Once Upon a Geek

The Battlestar Galactica Colorforms Adventure Set Deluxe Edition was released in 1978.  I remember playing with these and other Colorforms sets for hours and hours.  Somewhere along the line I lost my BSG Colorforms, but my good buddy Ravenface was kind enough to supply me with a set he bought in a garage sale back in the late 1990s.  I think he got it for $1.  Nowadays you can find them online with prices ranging from $23 – $36.

What a gorgeous cover!  I used to have a poster of that image!  Loved it!  The set is huge too – the box measures 12.5″ x 15.5″.  Above you can see the exterior of the box with the quote, “Create exciting scenes from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA with Coloforms plastic that Sticks like Magic.  Can be used over and over again. Never wears out.”  I don’t know about “never”, but 30 yahrens later and they still sort-of stick.  However, the typographical error on the box cover is driving me mad!  On the fourth line the word “Sticks” is capitalized.  There is no reason for that!  Arrgghhh!  The proofing Nazi in me is unforgiving.  With that said, my grammar is terrible, so I really can’t fault them.

Below you’ll see the interior of the set.  I always loved the booklet as  kid.  You could see example play-scenes and other available products.  In this booklet they are advertising: Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, Ernie & Bert, Cookie Monster, Barbie, Holly Hobbie, Batman, and Raggedy Ann.  There is also a note to the parents worth repeating:

To the Parent – Colorforms’ toys help your child develop and improve these six important skills: 1) Finger dexterity, 2) Sense of spatial relationship, 3) Size matching, 4) Building ability, 5) Color Sense, and 6) Sense of neatness and order.

Who knew we were learning while having fun?!?!?

Here is a close-up of the yellow Colorforms.  The dork in me can easily recognize the characters.  I’m pretty confident that is Baltar, Cassiopeia, and Apollo.

Close-up of the blue Colorforms.  Clearly the Cylons.  I like their big meaty helmets.

Here we’ve got Athena, Muffit the Daggit, and Starbuck.  I’m pretty sure this one is Starbuck based upon the longer hair and the cape.  It’s possilbe that I’ve got Apollo and Starbuck backwards, but does anyone but me really care that much?

Here we’ve got Boxy and Ovion bug monsters from the casino on Carillon.

And finally, here is the playset depicting one of the greatest moments of Battlestar Galactica.  It’s the … It’s the… Escape from Hoth?  WTF?  I have no idea what this setting is supposed to be.  Turrets and a crazy looking X-Wing fighter?  Maybe someone from the 20th Century Fox studio got drunk and barged into the Universal City Studios Colorforms department.  Yeah, that’s makes sense.

There are those who believe that life here began out there, far across the universe, with tribes of humans who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man who even now fight to survive somewhere beyond the heavens…

Hey gang! More of an administrative post today.  I was hoping to get some feedback from you readers about a change I’ve recently made to the blog.

If you look in the right-hand sidebar I’ve added two Twitter feeds, one for comic books and one for Doctor Who (both popular topics here).  I thought this might be a nice geek-news aggregation resource for readers while on my site.  What I’m looking to find out is if this is useful to you.  If not, are there any ways to make it useful to you (i.e. list 10 tweets instead of 5, create a feed for Star Wars, only show tweets from news sources, etc).  Also, is there anything I can do to make the blog more interesting or relevant for you?

Typically when I ask for feedback like this I get a couple responses.  That’s depressing considering hundreds of people read this site everyday.  I can prove you’re not alone.  Scroll down to the bottom of the sidebar.  Towards the bottom, there is a section labeled “Users Currently Online”.  That’s the number of people on ONCE UPON A GEEK at that moment.  See, you’re not alone.  Now c’mon folks, help me out here.  Suggestions you provide will only make your experience better here.  Y’all are a great audience, so I’d appreciate any feedback you’ve got to share.  Please feel free to comment here or send me an e-mail at shag@onceuponageek.com.  Thanks!

I am SO ready for the new Doctor Who season to start.  Doctor Who season 5 opens with “The Eleventh Hour” by Steven Moffat and is set to premiere on BBC One in the UK and BBC America on April 5th.  BBC has released a brilliant new teaser trailer for season 5 featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond.  Check it out!

This video will be running in 3-D in the UK before the new Alice in Wonderland film. I can’t confirm it, but I get the sense this video was created specifically as a trailer, rather than as footage from upcoming episodes.  I hope that is the case as I appreciate the efforts from the BBC to create a real buzz for new Who Matt Smith.  I love everything about this trailer, from the music, to the swirling stars, to the action, to the Doctor and Amy’s interaction.  This trailer has really provided me with a lot of confidence in the new season. I just can’t wait!

Hold on tight.  Geronimo!

Here are 10 really cool Sci-Fi related gift ideas for geeks.  Today’s post comes directly from the MSN Sci-Fi Superfans blog.  Check it out by clicking here.  Thanks to my wonderful wife, The Irrepressible Gena, for sending me the link.

Valentine’s Day is this weekend and you may be on the lookout for something special for your sci-fi-loving sweetheart. Here are 10 ideas that are sure to please both men and women.

The Ladies of “Star Wars” Playing Cards

Hey, ladies. You probably don’t care for the Playboy poker cards your boyfriend pulls out when his pals come over. Why not compromise and get him some stunning playing cards with kickass “Star Wars” heroines on them?

“Star Trek” Cologne

From “Tiberius” to “Red Shirt,” there is a scent here to please everyone.

Personalized “Avatar” Canvas Art

Or why not personalize some wall art inspired by “Avatar” with your sweetie’s picture on it? Make him or her a Pandora native.

X Wing Pilot Hoodie

A warm, snuggly hoodie is a cute gift for both guys and girls and it doesn’t get any cooler than this X Wing pilot hoodie.

Fandango Bucks

Netflix Gift Card

Of course, date night is even more perfect with some privacy… so you could always just download something from Netflix.

Star Registry

Sci-fi fans are always looking to the stars, so why not honor your love by naming a star in their tribute?

I Love My Geek T-Shirt

Let’s face it, most of us sci-fi movie fans embrace the word “geek.” We have reappropriated the word, so show your geek love with pride on Valentine’s Day.

Princess Leia Slave Bikini

Better yet, the ladies can slip into even less at the end of the night. You can’t go wrong with some Princess Leia-inspired lingerie.

Flux Capacitor Replica

Show your true love that time with them is relative by gifting a replica flux capacitor.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

While on the cruise, I finally got around to reading the Eureka graphic novel from BOOM! Studios.  I was pretty exited to see the story was by the Eureka TV show creators Andrew Cosby and Jaime Paglia.  That tells you right away that it’ll be faithful to the series.  In interviews the creators have referred to their Eureka comic work as Season 1.5 of the TV show, and that the comics should be considered official Eureka continuity.  As a fan of the TV series and an avid comic reader, I was pretty thrilled about this!  This story was originally published as a four-issue mini-series and then collected.  It was to be the first of four Eureka graphic novels, however, only two have been produced to date.

Here is the graphic novel description from BOOM! Studios:

Sci-Fi Channel’s smash hit TV show comes to BOOM! The first arc of Eureka is collected in this volume, masterminded by the creators of the show and told completely in continuity! It’s a game of cat and mouse when Sheriff Cater is on the hunt for an escapee from Global Dynamics. But what connection does this dangerous stranger have to Carter’s partner, Jo Lupo?  Story by Andrew Cosby and Jaime Paglia, Script by Brendan Hay, Art by Diego Barreto, and Cover Art by J.K. Woodward.   112 pages, Full color, 9″ x 6″, MSRP $15.99

Overall this was a good read.  The story was solid, the characterization was dead-on, there was a good dose of humor, and it truly felt like an episode of the TV series.  We get to see most of the show regulars, such as: Sheriff Carter, Allison Blake, Deputy Jo Lupo, Zoe Carter, Nathan Stark, Henry Deacon, Douglas Fargo, Vincent, and even Taggart.   A major portion of the plot revolves around Jo Lupo’s past, which is nice to see explored here.

One of the chapters (or issues depending on how you look at it) featured a cliffhanger ending with the surprise return of Warren King.  That’s right, Warren King!  I know what you’re thinking, Warren King!  Seriously!  Wow!  … … okay, I didn’t know who he was either.  I had completely forgotten that the Director of Global Dynamics in the pilot episode was Warren King.  Remembering that character was made even more difficult by the interior art.  The panel layouts, action, and storytelling are all fine in the comic, but the artist did a poor job capturing the likenesses of the actors.  With the obscurity of the character and the weak art, I’m not sure anyone could have got the full effect intended in the cliffhanger.  By contrast, the painted covers for the individual issues, which were presented in the graphic novel, are really gorgeous.  The covers capture the spirit of the show as well as the likenesses of the characters.

Overall, any fan of the Eureka TV series would enjoy this graphic novel.  I would say this story is the equivalent of one really good episode of the TV show.  However, at the price of $15.99 for the graphic novel, I’m not sure it’s worth it.  After all, you can get an entire season of Eureka on Amazon.com right now for $21.99.  My recommendation, borrow the graphic novel from a friend.

Neil Gaiman has confirmed that he will be writing an episode of Doctor Who to air in 2011!  In an exclusive message to SFX Magazine he revealed that he is writing an episode for the second season of Matt Smith.

I am totally jazzed about this!  While I haven’t read much of Gaiman’s stuff since Sandman, there is no denying that he’s an amazing writer! His work on Sandman kept me reading comics in 1989 when I considered dropping everything.  I started with Sandman #8, Death’s debut story, and stayed with it all the way to the end.  Given his ability to tell really emotional tales, he could possibly give Blink and Caves of Androzani a run for their money as the best Doctor Who episode ever.

Here is what he told SFX Magazine:

As anyone who’s read my blog knows, I’m a big fan of a certain long-running British SF TV series. One that started watching — from behind the sofa — when I was three. And while I know it’s cruel to make you wait for things, in about 14 months from now, which is to say, NOT in the upcoming season but early in the one after that, it’s quite possible that I might have written an episode. And if I had, it would originally have been called “The House of Nothing”. But it definitely isn’t called that any more.

Countdown. You’ve got about 14 months.

Watch this space in 14 months for the, “OMG! It was brilliant!”

Do I really need to say anything else?

Thanks for sticking with me this week while I’m on vacation.  Here are a few more Star Wars Motivational Posters to reward you.