Robot Chicken Season 4

Robot Chicken

Robot Chicken is back with it’s 4th Season, and the quality just gets stronger each time it comes back! From the opening episode that guest stars Joss Whedon, Ron Moore and Seth MacFarlane, through to the episode with cocaine fuelled Powerpuff Girls and the one with Dick Cheney as Iron Man (now there’s a frighting prospect!)

Each show may only be 12 minuites long, but they’re rammed full of more geek and pop culture references than you can shake an 80′s He-Man action figure at. Gag’s coming at you so quickly it’s easy to miss one, and end up going back to watch it again.

The DVD also contains some excellent commentaries from creators Seth Green & Matthew Senreich along with a host of guest stars from the various episodes, and some entertaining footage from the San Diego Comic-Con ‘08 and New York Comic Con ‘09 Panels.

9/10 – Funny, brilliant, and geeking awesome!

Titan Maximum Season 1

The creators of Robot Chicken are here to prove that leaving the fate of the world in the hands of idiot kids really ain’t that good a plan…

TITAN MAXIMUM

TITAN MAXIMUM is a riff on those japanese Power Rangers type ‘Saturday morning’ shows, but TITAN FORCE FIVE (the team that command the mighty Titan Maximum robot) are nothing like the teams you’ve seen before…

There’s Palmer (Breckin Meyer) – the dashing, if a bit dumb, leader with an ego the size of a planet. Sasha (Eden Espinosa) – the presidents (kinda slutty, and as subtle as a sonic boom) daughter. Jodi (Rachael Leigh Cook) – Cheerful and determined, but full of self doubt (not helped by Sasha costaint ribbing). Willie (Dan Milano) – Younger brother of Palmer, but with none of his smooth charm, he’s a lifelong super-nerd who’s suddenly living the dream. And finally Leon – He’s a monkey… Titan Force’s former monkey butler to be exact.

When a once peaceful solar system is threatened by a genocidal madman (voiced by Seth Green), the dispanded TITAN FORCE FIVE commanding the mighty TITAN MAXIMUM are pulled out of their enforced ‘retirement’ to save the day.

It’s robo-bashing, laser-blasting, monkey-flying, sometimes naked spacefaring action and adventure as only the creators of Emmy award winning ROBOT CHICKEN can deliver!

8/10 – Robo-bashing, monkey-flying, spacefaring action!

The Avengers

Haven’t had too much time to post recently, but a few interesting stories emerged last week which I thought deserved GeekTown’s attention. First up, lots of rumours that Joss Whedon is about to take over the writing/directing reins of The Avengers movie, as well as polishing the ‘Captain America‘ script.

This is a really smart move on Marvel’s part if it turns out to be true. Joss has proved he knows his Marvel characters with his superb run on the X-Men comics, along with his re-writes on the original X-Men movie. Given Captain America is being penned by the scribes behind the The Chronicles of Narnia movies, and Zak Penn (who’s previous efforts for Marvel were Elektra, Fantastic Four, X-Men: The Last Stand and The Incredible Hulk…) is currently writing The Avengers, i rather suspect both scripts will be in dire need of some serious work.

Just makes me wish even more Nathan Fillion had been cast as Steve Rogers instead of Chris Evans.

Also thought i’d mention, for you tweeters wanting to keep up with the various actors and writers who’ve worked with Joss in the past, i’ve set up a ‘Whedon Alumi‘ list on Twitter, which you can see here. And of course, we still have our Joss Whedon related t-shirts over at the GeekTown Store.

Nathan Fillion in Castle

Ladies, get your Captain Tight Pants fix as ‘Castle’ gets a UK airdate – Wednesday 7th April 2010 at 9pm on Alibi (sky 132, virgin 130)

Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Serenity, Desperate Housewives) stars as Richard Castle – a famous mystery novelist who helps the NYPD homicide department solve crimes. Launching on Alibi on Wednesday 7th April (Wednesdays at 9pm) Castle follows the relationship between the wise cracking crime writer and Kate Beckett, the feisty NYPD Detective (Stana Katic).

Richard “Rick” Castle and Detective Kate Beckett first cross paths when Castle is investigated by the NYPD when a murder victim matches the description of a victim in one of his best-selling novels. At the time of the investigation Castle is suffering a bad case of writer’s block. Inspired by his run-in with the beautiful Beckett and through his connections with the Mayor he gets permission to hang out as a consultant at the precinct to do research for his next book. Beckett is initially horrified by the idea of castle tagging along but as time progresses a chalk-and-cheese crime-solving duo are born.

Stana Katic

Castle mixes classic amateur sleuthing and Moonlighting-style sexual chemistry with slick, 21st century police procedural drama.

To find out more about the show, or watch exciting clips visit: theperfectalibi.co.uk

You can also find exclusive information on Facebook here.

Gamer t-shirt

For those of you that haven’t stopped by the GeekTown Shop recently, we’ve done a bit of remodelling, added a bunch of new designs, and generally spruced things up a bit.

New designs include a whole bunch of new gamer t-shirts, including a re-vamped version of ‘the cake is a lie’ t-shirt.

There’s also some brand new geek t-shirts, from a simple expression of ‘Geek’, ‘LOL’ or ‘WTF?’ t-shirt, to a glow in the dark “Computer games don’t affect kids, I mean if Pac Man affected us as kids, we’d all be running around in darkened rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive music.” t-shirt.

Geek t-shirts

We’ve added to the World of Warcraft t-shirts, with a ‘Stormwind University’ t-shirt, along with a straightforward ‘For The Horde!‘ tee, and a couple of new designs for the ‘I apologize profusely for any inconvenience my murderous rampage may have caused’ girly t-shirts. And of course the classic ‘My Guild Went to Nothrend and all i got was this lousy tshirt‘ tee is still available!

And if your after one of the old classics, they’re all still there, like the ‘I’m What Willis Was Talkin’ ‘Bout’ t-shirt, and the ‘Joss Whedon is my Master Now‘ t-shirt, along with our new Firefly t-shirts.

Come have a look. Wear your geekdom with pride!

my guild went to northrend...

The cake is a lie t-shirt

Stormwind University t-shirt

Much as we’re mourning the loss of Dollhouse, I thought it’d fun to have a look into the not to distant, and fire up some random speculation/wish list of what Joss could/should do next…

5. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog – Part 2.

Okay, this is a little more than idle speculation, as Zack Whedon has already confirmed they are writing the continuing adventures of our favourite Emmy Award winning supervillan and his nemsis Captain Hammer. They have been waiting for a break in Dollhouse schedule to get together and nail the script and tunes. Given Dollhouse‘s perminent break in schedule, we could be seeing Dr. Horrible 2 sooner than we originally hoped.

4. Serenity 2

I know… This is more a wish that anything that’s likely to actually happen. But still, Joss has proved there is life in the Firefly Universe through the graphic novels. It’d just be a case of arranging it around Nathon Fillion‘s Castle duties, Adam Baldwin‘s Chuck schedule, Morena Baccarin‘s ‘V‘ filming, and the various film schedules of  Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher and Summer Glau (and maybe even Alan Tudyk)… And then it’s just a case of finding someone to finance it… And a studio to distribute it… Okay, it’s never going to happen… Still, if i’m writing a wish list of stuff i want Joss to do, something Firefly/Serenity related HAS to be on it!

3. Fray TV Series

There’s bound to be a number of stories appear suggesting Joss and Eliza head back to the Buffyverse and make a Faith series. However, i think i’d like to see a bit more of a twist if there was going to be a new Slayer series. How about basing around the Fray comic book series.

Centuries have passed since the last Slayer was called. Demons were banished from the Earth at some point in the 21st century by an unnamed Slayer and her friends, and the Watchers’ Council has decayed into a group of crazed fanatics. The vampires (dubbed lurks) have now returned and haunt the city. To combat this threat, a new Slayer is called: a professional thief named Melaka Fray. With the Watchers’ Council ineffective, a group of “neutral” demons send the demon Urkonn to prepare Melaka for the war that is sure to come…

Don’t know about you, but i’d watch that!

2. Ripper

Ripper – Proposed TV series set in the Buffyverse starring Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles in the tradition of “classic English ghost stories”.

Had enough of the US networks trampling all over your shows Joss? Come to England! Talk to the BBC. They force us pay for a tv license so you don’t have to worry about viewing figures. Plus anything Tony Head does seems to be a huge hit, you can’t lose! Sure the weather is a bit grey at times, but it’s a small price to pay for creative freedom. You’ve been talking about Ripper for years. All reports say you got really really close to making it too over the last couple of years… Why not come over and make it a reality?

1. Something New

Click here to buy your Joss Whesdon Is My Master now t-shirts

Much as i love the Buffyverse and Firefly’s ‘verse, I always look forward to new stuff from Joss and the rest of the team at Mutant Enemy. I’m sure they’ll be back with something different from the mainstream in the not to distant future, and i can’t wait.

Got any more ideas? Leave them in the comments!

5. Odyssey 5 (2002).

What was it?

Odyssey 5

Odyssey 5 had a great concept. Bunch of astronauts up on a routine spaceflight watch the Earth turn into a fireball and implode! Whilst the 5 surviving crew members of the Odyssey space shuttle contemplate their impending demise, they’re rescued by a mysterious being called the Seeker. It seems Earth isn’t the only planet to have suffered this fate, but this is the first time the Seeker has managed to find survivors. He sends the crew’s consciousnesses back in time 5yrs to give them a chance to prevent the disaster.

Why was Odyssey 5 cancelled?

Actually a pretty good question… Odyssey 5 ran on Showtime, who bizarrely cancelled it after airing only 14 of it’s 20 episodes, despite the show being one the highest rated on the network (they only citing that they ‘wanted to move away from SciFi shows’ as a reason)…

4. Reaper (2007-2009).

What was it?

Reaper

Reaper was a show about dropout/slacker/Work Bench employee Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison), who finds himself being forced to become a bounty hunter for the Devil after his father promised their first born child to the Devil (Ray Wise) in return for curing his sick wife.

Sam’s job as bounty hunter requires him to retrieve souls that have escaped from Hell by capturing them in a ‘vessel’ provided by the Devil each week, usually with help from friends Sock (Tyler Labin), Ben (Rick Gonzalez), and love interest Andi (Missy Peregrym).

Why was Reaper cancelled?

Ratings more than anything although the CW network really didn’t help things by putting the second season up against American Idol. ABC Studios was in talks of  keeping Reaper going through first-run syndication, however as time went on, and with an uncertain future, understandably Tyler Labin and then Bret Harrison signed deals on new shows, which pretty much left Reaper reaped.

3. Angel (1999-2004).

What was it?

Angel

Angel (a spin-off from the Joss Whedon’s brilliant Bufy the Vampire Slayer) followed the trials of a vampire private detective trying to make up for his past deeds after gypsies returned his soul. In his mission to ‘help the helpless’ he enlist the help of various associates to help do battle with demons, and evil law firm Wolfram & Heart.

Angel was much darker in tone than it’s sibling show Buffy, but still contained the trademark Whedonesque dialogue, and complex season arcing plots, mixing genres in the genius way only Joss Whedon can.

Why was Angel cancelled?

Although Angel made it to a respectable 5 seasons, it was still cut down very much in it’s prime. In fact, ironically the fact it was doing well in it’s timeslot possibly contributed to it’s demise… Angel was a fairly expensive show to produce, and because of this The WB network usually left it until very late to sign the renewal, just in case something better/cheaper came along (which it never did). The problem with this was that a lot of cast and crew had to turn down potential jobs on the hope that Angel got picked up again. Feeling this was unfair, and on the back of the great reception they’d had for season 5, a confident Joss asked The WB not to keep them waiting, and give them a yay or nay on season 6… The WB, thinking something else would come along (which of course  it didn’t) said ‘okay, we’re cancelling you’… Had they waited until the last minute as usual it’s extremely likely they would have got the renewal. The WB have since stated cancelling Angel was a big mistake.

2. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-2009).

Click here to Win Season 2 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Blu-Ray!

What was it?

Click here to enter our great Termintor:TSCC competition and win the whole of Season 2 on Blu-Ray!

In a similar way to what they’ve done with the new Star Trek movie,  Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles tv series took place in a slightly different timeline to the Terminator movies. The pilot episode starts in 1999 after the events of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, with Sarah (Lena Headey) and her son John (Thomas Dekker) and his reprogrammed Terminator protector Cameron (Summer Glau), on the run from Terminator Cromartie (Garret Dillahunt).  In an attempt to escape, Cameron creates a temporal rift, jumping them forward in time to 2007, unfortunately, a badly damaged, but still functioning Cromartie manages to follow them. As the series continues, we start to see how the future Terminator controlling computer overlord ‘Skynet’ starts to become sentient, and sees the group team up with John’s Uncle, resistance fighter Derek Reese (Brian Austin Green).

One of the great things about Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is that they mostly avoided the easy option of having a ‘monster (or in this case Terminator) of the week’, and chose a more serialized format, keeping Cromartie as the main villain for all of the 1st season (and part of the 2nd), allowing more longer more intricate plot lines to develop. What could have been just another ‘cash in’ to the Terminator franchise became a well written, intelligent, complex and entertaining show.

Why was Terminator: TSCC cancelled?

Once again, ratings, or rather Nielsen ratings (by far the most outdated pointless way of rating a shows popularity) killed it. The useless thing about Nielsen ratings is they don’t take into account Tivo/DVR viewing. For it’s second season Terminator TSCC was moved to the dreaded ‘Friday night death slot’ to team up with Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse. The trouble is, if your running shows aimed a young audience and then airing it on a night when most of your target audience is out, don’t be surprised when the live (Nielsen rated) viewing figures suck. An episode which might only get 3 million live viewers in reality could have 10 million if you add in Sky+/Tivo/DVR figures. It really is time we found a better way to rate shows, otherwise all were going to end up getting commissioned is hours of Americas Next Top Dancing With The Stars Idol…

Click here to Win Season 2 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Blu-Ray!

1. Firefly (2002).

What was it?

Firefly

Created by Joss Whedon, Firefly was set 500 years in the future, in a new solar system after humanity abandons ‘Earth That Was’. The show followed the crew of the Firefly class ship Serenity as they struggle to survive any way they can in the ‘verse. It’s often described as a ‘sci-fi/western’, but ‘sci-fi/post American Civil War’ would actually be more accurate (although not as catchy). Rather than being a Stargate style action series, Firefly ditched the idea of aliens and massive space battles in favour of focusing on the wonderful character interactions of the eclectic crew.

Firefly was one of those moments when all the star aligned and everything in a show just worked. From the pitch perfect casting, to Joss Whedon’s superb scripts, to the iconic character and costume design. I’d go as far to say it was arguably the best scifi show ever made.

Why was Firefly cancelled?

*sigh*… FOX’s incompetence more than anything… Firstly, they switched the episode order, moving the pilot episode to the middle of the season. The show was hardly advertised, and then shifted around the schedules. They pretty much did everything possible to bury the series. Thankfully, there appears to have been a complete turnaround at FOX in recent years, which has led to Joss returning to the network for Dollhouse, and FOX supporting it for a second season. Joss also got the opportunity to tie up some of the loose ends in the movie Serenity. I’d still love to see Firefly take to the big or small screen again though.