Once Upon a Geek

This week I attended a day-long educational workshop related to my job.  The workshop was held in one of the meeting rooms at the Tallahassee Antique Car Museum.  It was a pretty good workshop with interesting speakers.  On a break, I was strolling through the museum thinking about the topics and real-world applications for use back at the office.  Needless to say I was in total “work mode”.  Then I rounded a corner and found myself face-to-face with a major piece of geekdom… Batmobiles!

Yup!  I said Batmobiles… as in plural.  I’ve known for years that the museum had at least one of the Batmobiles, but I wasn’t expecting all the items I found.

Here is the 1960s Batmobile from the TV series.  There was no sign, so I can’t vouch for whether this particular car was actually featured in the TV series, or if this is a replica.  Either way, it’s a really sweet looking car!  It’s amazing how a 40 year old design can still look awesome.

The Batman Returns Batmobile.  According to the placard, this is one of two Batmobiles constructed and used in the filming of “Batman Returns”.  There is a corvette engine in this bad boy!  And for the record, this is my favorite Batmobile.  When I actually saw it with my own eyes, I was astounded.  This car is REALLY big. I’d hate to have to park it.

Batmobile from Batman Forever.  Again, no sign so I can’t validate whether this is original or not, however, I imagine it’s the real article.  For the record, I don’t care for this design. It looks like a Hot Wheels car to me… hate the big fin on top.

The 1960’s TV Bat-Cycle…

…including the Robin sidecar!

The Batskiboat from Batman Returns!  Neat to look at in real life.

Here is the Penguin’s Yellow Duck transport from Batman Returns.

So after picking my jaw up off the floor, I snapped these pics for your enjoyment.  Then I had to figure out a way to purge all my geeky giddiness and get back into “work mode”.  Eventually I was able to focus on the workshop, but there were fleeting moments of daydreams filled with, “Atomic Batteries to Power…”

Other than the Doctor Who dynasty of shows, I don’t watch much television.  However, there is one new show that I have totally fallen for in the past year… “Chuck” on NBC.  The show is about a computer geek who is catapulted into a new career as the government’s most vital secret. With the government’s most precious secrets in Chuck’s head, NSA’s John Casey and CIA’s Sarah Walker assume the responsibility of protecting him. The show is a mixture of action/adventure and sitcom, with just a dash of angsty romance.  Somehow they’ve hit upon a magical formula that just works.

If you haven’t seen the series, you can watch a few episodes (including the pilot) at the official NBC web site for Chuck.  The series features the hilarious and brilliant Zachary Levi as Chuck.  Sara Walker is played by one of the hottest women to come out of Australia, Yvonne Strahovski. John Casey is played by fantastic Adam Baldwin.  The supporting characters are also awesome (pun intended, if you watch the show)!

Recently Wildstorm comics started a six-issue mini-series based upon the show.  It’s being written by series co-executive producer Peter Johnson and series writer Zev Borow, so it’s not just some lousy throwaway spin-off.  The first issue came out last month (hopefully you can still find it in stores), while the second issue is slated to come out this week.  I felt that Issue #1 was well done.  Since its being written by people from the actual show, you get the sense that they got the characters “voices” right.  I love the homage to Gilligan’s Island in the beginning where Chuck plays Gilligan and his boss plays Skipper.  Funny stuff!  Also, some former Chuck adversaries make appearances in the comic, so that was fun.  Finally, there is a one-page back-up called “Captain Awesome’s Tips for Being Awesome!!”  That was great… or dare I say AWESOME!  All told, I think the comic mini-series is off to a good start.

There were also a few recent Hellboy II: The Golden Army commercials featuring Chuck.  Check them out below.

 Chuck hangs with Hellboy…

Better head to the Buy More…

If you can’t view the embedded videos, just head over to the official NBC web site for Chuck.

While the reviews have been somewhat mixed, I personally enjoyed the new movie “Hancock“.  I felt the movie delivered on what was promised in the trailers (a down-and-out superhero mends his ways to become a hero).  There were fun displays of superpowers, such as the way Hancock does super-jumps and his landings.  They also did an excellent job showing the collateral damage caused by superheroes.  It makes you think how dangerous it would really be to have super-powered beings running around.

Surprisingly, there is a whole other plot that takes place on the back-end of the movie that was not featured in the trailers.  I won’t spoil it for you, but I imagine that is what most people are fussing about.  The expectation nowadays is that every major plot thread should be featured in the trailer.  When something hits you during the film you weren’t expecting, you should rejoice!  Wow, a genuine surprise during a movie!  When was the last time that happened?  We’ve all become so used to knowing in advance what is going to happen, we’ve forgotten how much fun it is to be surprised.  Good job Hancock!

Finally, there were some concerns early on about the similarities between the Hancock plot of a down-and-out/alcoholic superhero and the potential “Demon in a Bottle” plot for Iron Man 2.  In fact, the director of Iron Man 2 suggested they may have to drop the entire Tony Stark alcoholic storyline if it would be too repetitious of Hancock.   After seeing Hancock, I don’t think they have anything to worry about.  I think the storyline of Tony Stark spiraling into self-destructive alcoholism could still be done quite well without concern for plot repetition.  Just my two cents.

The name “B-Wing” has always bothered me.  I believe I can safely say that some of you are thinking, “hell ya, that’s always bugged the crap out of me too!”  While another percentage of you are thinking, “what the frig is a B-Wing, and why do I care?”

The B-Wing is a spaceship from the movie “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” (don’t you dare refer to it as “Episode 6″ around me).  However, unlike all the other letter-named ships in the series (i.e. X-Wing, Y-Wing, and A-Wing), the ship design doesn’t resemble the letter of the alphabet. 

Here are some images to demonstrate my point.  First row (l-to-r): X-Wing and Y-Wing.  Second row (l-to-r): A-Wing and B-Wing.

Clearly the B-Wing name doesn’t match its body design.  It doesn’t look anything like a “B”!  In fact, the B-Wing sure looks a lot like the lower case letter “t”.  You’d think it would be called the “T-Wing”.  I suspect someone at ILM had their radio up too loud listening to “Maneater” by Daryl Hall and John Oates.  Because of the noise, they simply misheard “bee” in place of ”tee” and it stuck.  Once Kenner started making the toys, they realized they couldn’t go back and change it to “T-Wing” (especially after the whole 4-LOM/Zuckuss debacle from “Empire Strikes Back”).

Now before you go believing that crap about “B-Wing” being named for the Nebulon-B frigate, you gotta realize that’s a “expanded universe” retcon.  So I don’t believe for a second that was the plan back in 1983. 

I blame Hall & Oates. 

In honor of the new “Incredible Hulk” movie.  This is hilarious!

I ganked it from Michael Bailey, who ganked it from dj_intheuk. 

I finally saw “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”. I liked it. Yup, I’m one of the few geeks I know that actually enjoyed the movie.

Now, I have to admit that I was probably not impartial going in. I’d read quite a bit of spoilers, so I was much better prepared for the controversial parts as compared to most people. I think knowing about those parts in advance (and already personally working through the surprise and disappointment) allowed me to enjoy the film more. It’s sort of like having surgery. Prior to the surgery, the doctor explains in gory detail what they are going to do to you. So when its time for the actual procedure, you aren’t really surprised or upset by the painful bits.

Beware, there be SPOILERS ahead…
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Things I liked…

• I enjoyed the second Act that took place back at the University. I felt like they introduced a nice subplot about a hero getting older. Loved the line, “We seem to have reached the age where life stops giving us things and starts taking them away.” I liked that they lingered on the photo of Indy’s dad.

• Indy gaining a son was a perfect counterpoint to the earlier scene about getting older. Here Indy is given something new (a son he never knew he had). Well structured.

• I enjoyed hearing Harrison Ford’s famous Star Wars line, “I got a bad feeling about this.”

• I thought the use of the army ants was really cool! Very unexpected but fitting for Indiana Jones. I’m going to have the creepy crawlies for days.

• Throughout the movie I was waiting for the moment, and dreading the thought of, when Indy would put the hat on Mutt as sort of a passing of the torch. I was happy to see that moment was stolen from Mutt. It symbolically said that Mutt wasn’t picking up Indy’s mantle and that Indy was still around. Nice.

• I liked that the his son was called Mutt. Given that Indiana chose his name because of their dog, Mutt was a funny choice and seemed to fit with the 1950’s era. I’m sure some people thought it was a silly homage to how Indiana chose his name, but I liked it (especially because they didn’t actually come out and remind us during the film).

Things I struggled with…

• I’m all about Indiana action being over the top. However, even I had a hard time overlooking some of the ridiculous stunts, such as the atomic refrigerator & Mutt on the vines. Additionally, as it did with Ravenface, the bad stunt stand-ins during the motorcycle chase really took me out of the film.

• I could have done without the majority of the sci-fi stuff. I think they could have still done a Crystal Skull plot (but more based upon the Mitchell-Hedges skull and myth), included Area 51, but only hinted at and left the audience wondering about the alien stuff.

General missives…

• I thought I’d heard during pre-production that John Hurt was playing Abner Ravenwood. I wonder what happened there.
• Why did the aliens need to be from another dimension? Was outer space just to simple of a concept? Given the homage to the 1950’s alien invasion movies, I would have thought simply making them from outer space would have made more sense.

• In regard to the sci-fi elements, I understand where the filmmakers were coming from. I think their hearts were in the right place and they were in a Catch-22 situation. If they simply made another archeological adventure movie, fans would have griped that there was nothing new and they failed to live up to the old films. By going in a different direction, they risked alienating fans with the psychic/dimensional subplot. Either way, the fan base was going to doom the movie. So I think trying something different was probably the best approach (even though I personally didn’t like some of the elements).

Again, overall I enjoyed the movie. I may not have agreed with some elements, but overall it was a fun adventure romp with a hero from my childhood.  I probably won’t see it in the theater again, but I’m sure I’ll buy the DVD.

The Irredeemable Shag

http://onceuponageek.com

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!

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!