Michael G. Munz

Farscape Rewatch: “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (spoilers)

July 13, 2014 By Michael G. Munz 2 Comments

Season 2, Episode 15: “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
***** out of *****

“I like your style, hombre. But this is no laughing matter. Assault on a police officer. Theft of police property. Illegal possession of a firearm. Five counts of attempted murder. That comes to… $29.40. Cash, check, or credit card?”

Won’t Get Fooled Again is very nearly the weirdest episode of Farscape. (It’s not John Quixote, but it’s close.) John finds himself back on Earth as if the Farscape project did NOT hurl him into the uncharted territories. Instead, he actually just crashed the module. Were the past two years all a dream???

Of frelling course not! Being savvy television watchers, we know this. Being a savvy television character, John does, too. After his experiences in A Human Reaction, he wastes no time trying to figure out if it’s real or not. He KNOWS it’s a sham from the moment he wakes up in that nauseatingly green hospital room. It’s not about what’s going on so much as WHY it’s going on, and who’s doing it. [Read more…]

MTV to produce Shannara series

July 12, 2014 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

The cover is dated, but it’s the one I remember.

So according to this story from The Hollywood Reporter, MTV has ordered a 10-episode TV series based on Terry Brooks’s fantasy novel, The Elfstones of Shannara. Jon Favreau is executive producing, with a script by Smallville writers Al Gough and Miles Millar. Jonathan Liebesman (director of, most recently, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Wrath of the Titans, and Battle Los Angeles) is apparently set to direct. Word is that MTV liked the script enough to completely skip the pilot process. [Read more…]

Zeus Is Dead Featurette: The Plot

July 8, 2014 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

So this one is a first for me, in a couple of ways. For one, it’s the first time I’ve done something like this at all. For another, it’s the first of a series of behind-the-book featurette videos related to Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure that will be posted leading up to the book’s official release date on July 21st!

Only three of the nine featurettes will be publicly available. The rest will only be visible to those who’ve subscribed to my mailing list. But more about that in a few days.

For now, please enjoy your very first look of me looking awkward on video as I talk about (without spoilers) the plot of Zeus Is Dead!

I’d like to thank David J. Taylor and Amy Louise Herndon at SciFiCommons for their generous time and effort with the filming and editing of these videos!

Oh, and feel free to like and share the holy Hades out of it.

Top 5 List: Enigmatic Beings

July 6, 2014 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

It’s time for another in my admittedly intermittent series of geek-related Top 5 lists! Yes, I know it’s been a while. I’ve had this particular Top 5 topic in mind since I posted the previous list, but given the nature of the topic itself, it’s taken me longer than usual to get a handle on it. What’s that topic, you say? (Go ahead. Say it…) I’m glad you asked!

Top Five Enigmatic Beings

And here’s the usual disclaimer: I’m bad at ranking things in specific order, I’m indecisive, etc. Or am I simply…enigmatic? (Oooh! Way to be on-topic, me!) Naah, I’m just unable to commit. So, in no particular order… [Read more…]

Farscape Rewatch: “Beware of Dog” (spoilers)

July 3, 2014 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

Season 2, Episode 14: “Beware of Dog”
out of *

“Our parasite problems are solved.”
“Rygel’s decided to leave us, has he?”

This is a simple little episode, perhaps made simpler by its coming right after a three-parter, but it’s not without its charm. It’s also a critter ep (John: “I hate critters!“) with a parasite getting aboard Moya to cause havoc, as sci-fi parasites are wont to do. It’s a fairly standard plot trope for sci-fi, yet Farscape manages to add its own particular twists to make it enjoyable. [Read more…]

Farscape Rewatch: “Look at the Princess, Part III” (spoilers)

July 2, 2014 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

Season 2, Episode 13:
“Look At The Princess, Part III” (The Maltese Crichton)
1/2 out of *

“I know, it hurts. You want it to not hurt? Well next time, hold onto THE FRELLING WALL!!”

And the third part of Farscape’s first three-parter comes to a close in a (mostly) satisfying way. To summarize:

I need one of those things. Because reasons.

John loses his head before the opening credits and spends at least the first quarter of the episode as a MacGuffin while everyone tries to either destroy the head, steal it, hide it, or reattach it. John gets (his) head, the Scarren kills Prince Too-Stupid-To-Live, then gets killed himself, and John escapes the planet after it’s decided that they may as well let the princess’s boyfriend pretend to be John since John can’t re-statuefy anyway.

Aeryn learns a lesson out in the barren lands (namely, gravity is a cruel bitch-goddess, and don’t go climbing with strangers), Zhaan proves worthy to watch over Moya, D’Argo does his best Caped Crusader impression to save Chiana (“How Batman was THAT?”), and we find out Scorpius has some sort of hidden influence on John.

Oh, and also John and Aeryn seem to be biologically compatible, and are reasonably pleased about the fact.

While I feel there’s slightly too much time spent on Aeryn’s climbing expedition out to the Devastator Reefs (which I believe are located south-southeast of the Cliffs of Insanity) and the still-lackluster Kahaynu plot, this is still a great episode. There are one or two plot…issues (3 hours in acid and John’s head is fine? And why doesn’t anyone think to ask Katralla who cut off John’s head?), but they’re minor bumps in the road so far as I’m concerned.

Captain Kirk would be proud.

One thing that did strike me as a bit odd is the whole bit with John sleeping with Jenavian while he’s in hiding. While he’s not really in love with his current wife, he doesn’t seem the sort to cheat even on that sort of relationship. Jenavian is arguably the one doing the seducing, but Crichton’s certainly willing to go along with it. Did he do so to make sure she stays an ally now that she knows he’s not a spy, or just is he just having a bit of life-affirming sex after nearly being killed? (I’m struck with the idea that he’s Captain Kirk being seduced by a female James Bond.)

Despite my thinking Aeryn’s subplot drags a little, it was at least nice to see that Sebacean-Ken (who claims to be rated “expert” at climbing but winds up being “novice” at heights) turns out to have some depth to him. He counsels Aeryn on her feelings for John–which he rightfully points out she runs from because she’s uncomfortable with things she’s not trained to deal with–in a genuinely stereotype breaking moment:

“Emotional pain you wear like a badge. It means you’ve been there. And it can’t get calloused because each fresh hurt stings like the first.”
“And why would you WANT that?”
“Because of all the days before it hurts. The good days, when you’re in love.”

“Now that’s REAL acid, so I want to see GOGGLES, people!”

Finally, this episode further develops things with Scorpius. For one thing, we finally get a reason for Scorpius’s outfit and cooling rods. Even better, there are now some definite signs that he’s done something to John. Scorpy tells D’Argo, “You underestimate the strength of the relationship. Even your friend does not yet understand.” Plus John can’t seem to bring himself to kill Scorpius. It’s a great touch when, afterward, Scorpius just gets up, glides his hand through the acid like a cocky bastard, and walks off with a grin. Admittedly, I didn’t understand quite what was happening in my original viewing, but of course in hindsight he was likely just testing the neurochip’s control.

Last lines:
“And I have noticed that you’re not talking to me.”

Other Comments:
That’s some dense acid, given how Crichton’s metal noggin floats in it. Later, the Scarren sinks when he falls in, so I guess Scarrens must be REALLY dense. On a side note, I still love the design of the Scarrens. It’s just a shame they couldn’t articulate his mouth better.

For some reason, there’s just nowhere with less security than the room in which completely helpless planetary regents are kept. Speaking of which, I can’t imagine being stuck as a statue for 80 years, conscious and aware the whole time, without going insane.