I spotted this on a car in the parking lot of the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Conference this weekend. World-building IS an important part of fantasy writing…
MTV to produce Shannara series
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…]
Farscape Rewatch: “Look at the Princess, Part III” (spoilers)
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:
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.
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.”
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.
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Star Wars trailer done Guardians of the Galaxy style…
While I’m still not sure what to make of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy, I do like this.
Quite a bit.
[From The Unusual Suspect, who also did one for the prequels, and other stuff…]
Farscape Rewatch: “Look at the Princess, Part II” (spoilers)
I bet you thought I’d forgotten about doing these, didn’t you? (Or maybe you didn’t even know I did them at all?) Time to change that!
Season 2, Episode 12:
“Look At The Princess, Part II” (I Do, I Think)
**** out of *****
“Look, Aeryn, ALL men are stupid, okay? Men: Stupid! If you want them to know something you’ve got to TELL them!”
(And even though I left off after part one of this three-parter six months ago, the “previously on Farscape” has me right back in the thick of it. Well, that, and my own memory, I suppose. After so long, experiencing the opening credits again feels better than I anticipated. Cool.)
So, yes, to sum up Part 1, Sebacean independent colony, princess with sabotaged DNA who can only have kids with humans, and Crichton trapped between 80 years as a statue/ruler or being fed to Scorpius. Also, Scarrens for the first time. Also Zhaan/Moya/Pilot off on their own. Also D’Argo-Chiana pairings. Also John about to be killed at the end. [Read more…]
Some Wonderful Kind of Noise
An unspoiled pop-culture canvas!
Okay, everyone, I’ve been alerted to the presence of the white whale. No, strike that, it’s not strong enough. This is the geek equivalent of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster having a bath in the Fountain of Youth.
There exists on the Interwebs a young man named Jeremy (age 19) who identifies as a gamer and “would-be geek” who has never seen Star Wars. He’s never seen Raiders of the Lost Ark. Alien. Terminator. The Princess Bride. Ghostbusters. Any of the quotable movies from geek culture of the past 35 years, he has not seen.
Now I know, you probably called bull#*@& midway through the last paragraph, but it’s true! Apparently he grew up somewhere in Canada with his grandparents, a minimal Internet connection, and very little television access. The grandfather only liked old movies and the grandmother only liked musicals. For most of his life he’s been an athlete and an avid tabletop gamer.
“…those hobbies took up a lot of time; I wouldn’t have passed them up for anything.”
Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow
Starcraft meets Groundhog Day
(Or maybe that should be Mass Effect meets Groundhog Day. Or possibly both. Just so long as Groundhog Day is in there somewhere.)
Edge of Tomorrow is, hands down, THE best video game movie ever. And just to be clear that I don’t mean to damn it with faint praise, it’s also one of the best movies I’ve seen all year. Possibly even this decade. It’s excellent science fiction.
No, it’s not actually an adaptation of any video game franchise, but Tom Cruise’s William Cage is, in at least the metaphorical sense (and maybe more), living a video game, save-scumming his way to victory: Try something, get killed, play again and learn from your mistakes to get a little further. Make no mistake, this isn’t some simple, novice-level, 2-hour single-player campaign from next fall. Cage has found himself locked into a “Nintendo-hard” level repeated ass-kicking with only a single save point: The very beginning.
Except now that I think about it, this is actually from the pre-Savegame Era. Cage is working through the original Super Mario Brothers here. Except with high-powered explosive weaponry. And aliens. [Read more…]
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