Stuff

Okay, so, a couple of things.

 

First off, a little more than a month ago, Felicia Day, star and creator of the widely popular web series The Guild, announced that she indeed has plans for a 5th season of my second favorite online show (Red vs Blue comes first)! The upcoming season will begin this summer and hopefully answer some questions raised by last season’s cliff-hanger ending. Felicia Day tells Tubefilter, “Expect more characters, more color more…fast quips! I’m not sure, let me write the season first.”

Click here for an article and here for the last episode of the 4th season.

 

I don’t really feel like I’m allowed to be excited for this, seeing as how I’m not the biggest comic book nerd, and I hadn’t even heard of Captain America before news of this movie, but since it looks just plain awesome, I decided I’m going to risk the anger of any hardcore Marvel fans. The video above is the first, full-length, Captain America trailer that was released 4 days ago. And holy crap does it look good. Definitely going to be a midnight premier for me.

Captain America comes out July22, 2011.

 

And as an extra tidbit, I decided to share a game called Hex Empire that I’ve been addicted to for years. When I have nothing but a laptop and endless hours of traveling by stuffy car, I whip this out and sink into my own little world of, well, conquering the world! The game is a bit like Risk, but different enough that it can claim that it is its own thing.

Click here to play. My record is winning in 27 turns on the hardest difficulty. Defeat me!

St. Patrick’s Day

Hey, it’s St. Patrick’s Day! And guess what? I’m Irish! That makes this a holiday completely centered around me! I love today!

 

So I supposed now you’ll be expecting a bit of interesting information that incorporates both nerdy stuff and St. Patty’s Day. Sorry to disappoint, but I just don’t feel like searching for hours and hours trying to find a video game that features leprechauns or a nerdy movie that has a lot of green. The Matrix. I think that had a sort of green feel to it. Moving on.

 

Today is dedicated to that lovable Nickelodeon show that a recent M. Night Shyamalan movie killed, but we won’t mention that. Calling it by its proper name, The Avatar had the perfect blend of innocent humor, drama, action, and all-around fun. With a great story and happy ending, The Avatar is remembered fondly by groups of all ages.

 

But to many of you, this is all old news. Perhaps, then, you did not know about the new Avatar series! Well okay, the news was released in July of last year, but I only recently discovered this. The new series will be made by the same guys who made the original cartoon, not some crap director who watched it with his kids. “The Legend of Korra” will be about a new, female avatar named Korra that succeeds Aang. Yes, that means Aang is dead. But he has a son who trains the Korra, an earthbender, in the ways of airbending. There will be a whole new main cast, although there are hints that suggest we will be seeing some of the old crew.

 

This new series will debut some time this year, and to find out more about it, click here for a link to an article with an interview.

Red vs Blue Season 9!

 

ZOMG!!! It’s really happening! Like really for real! The guys at Rooster Teeth confirmed yesterday at their PAX panel that the 9th season of Red vs Blue is officially going to happen. There were a lot of indications, like the RvB PSAs, that season 9 was coming, but I never found anything from Rooster Teeth to confirm it. I was especially worried by how season 8 ended: it was a really nice and emotional finish that could have ended the whole series, as well. I would have been mad if this were the case, because, well, I don’t want to spoil anything, but just trust me, you don’t want it to end that way.

 

With this new season confirmation, Rooster Teeth showed the trailer exclusively during their panel. It was an unfinished product that they want to continue working on before they officially release it to the public on April 1st, Rooster Teeth’s anniversary (this better not be an April Fools joke or I will murder someone). Of course, someone taped the trailer with her(?) video camera (there’s one in every crowd), so you can catch the really low quality and shaky video of the season 9 trailer here (I love how you can hear her crying after they announce it). Rooster Teeth probably won’t like their work in progress on YouTube, so better watch it fast before it’s removed! According to the trailer, the new season starts this summer! Best summer vacation ever!

 

What is the deal with these shaky cameras, anyway? How hard is it to hold a light weight object in the air for 5 minutes? Some people hold it like they’ve just drank ten 2-liter bottles of Mountain Dew after inhaling a box of caffeine pills! The earthquakes are in Japan, guys, come on!

The Doctor is In

 

Doctor who? Why, Doctor Who! Well, okay, the new season doesn’t start until this spring, but I’m pumped about this year’s series! If you’re a long-time watcher, then you know that BBC doesn’t seem to satisfy our craving for more than one episode every 3-4 months, but this season, there will be 7 episodes this spring, and 6 episodes in the fall. Too much of the Doctor? I think not! We have to make up for all the Doctor Who we’ve missed over the last couple seasons.

 

Sick of waiting for the snow to melt? Here’s a link to the trailer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/videos/p00cyvpy.

 

If you simply cannot wait until spring, here’s a little something about Daleks, my favorite characters in the series.

The Daleks were invented by the brilliant Terry Nation, a famous film script writer. The Nazis were his inspiration for the creation of the Daleks, which makes sense, as their organizational structure and drive to “exterminate” other races are similar to that of the Nazis. The Daleks debuted in the third episode of the first season, released in 1963, making the Daleks 48 years old. Click here for a video of the first Dalek appearance.

 

The Daleks hail from the planet Skaro. Under their mechanical shells lie Kaleds, a race of aliens that became immobilized through mutation, rendering them capable of only operating the controls inside their robot suits (Notice that if you rearrange the letters in “Kaled,” you get “Dalek”!). So if they can’t move, how did the Kaleds build their high-tech wheelchairs? The Kaled scientist Davros foresaw the mutation of his race by noticing all the radiation and chemical poisoning leaking onto his people. He devised the garbage can-looking transportation devices and saved his race, only to destroy it again by removing the emotions of compassion and pity from every Kaled. Now, the Daleks are on a never-ending mission to rid the universe of all non-Daleks. I bet now you’re wondering, so why are they your favorite species?! If you see a picture of them, you’d know why. One of their arms is a plunger. Also, I find their battle cry, “Exterminate!!!” kind of cute.

The Return of ‘Firefly’?

Ha! I got you there with the title, didn’t I? I bet you were all excited and thought, Golly gee whiz, new episodes of Firefly?! I could DIE from extreme fanaticism! Well, sorry to disappoint, but there will be no new episodes. There will never be new episodes. I’ve lost all hope for that ever happening. I guess there could be a remake, but without the original cast we’ve all come to love and adore, would it still have that same flare Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau and the rest brought to Mal’s lovable 03-K64 “Firefly”?

 

But that’s a speculation not worth getting all worked up over. Fox probably hasn’t even realized just how many people hate them for canceling the show. Anyway, although new episodes will not be released, we can all experience Serenity’s charm once again on TV through the Science Channel, as the network is re-airing the show for the whole ‘verse to see—or at least for those of us with cable.

 

This doesn’t really affect people like me who watch Firefly over and over again via Netflix, but it is nice to know that some networks still appreciate the ingenuity of Firefly’s fine balance between the genres of sci-fi and western. However, I am excited about the “new extras” that will accompany each episode as well as Dr. Michio Kaku’s discussion on the scientific concepts behind this short-lived series.

 

Although the show’s run was brief, its fan list is extensive, and the ever-growing group of enthusiasts will be sitting pretty in front of the Science Channel on March 6 for Firefly’s original two-hour pilot. Every following Sunday will reveal the next episode in the intended order. It’s nice to know that SOME PEOPLE care enough to get it right. For the article I read as well as a short and sweet interview with Nathan Fillion (Captain Malcolm Reynolds), click here.

 

 

Still upset over my being a jerk and misleading you about Firefly’s return? Then here’s something to take your mind off it: 10 fun Firefly facts!

-In Battlestar Galactica’s original pilot episode, Serenity was spotted flying among other ships in the background. Click here for a picture.

-The shape of Serenity varied in the series and the film. For example, the Firefly’s neck grew longer and the interior more roomy for the movie.

-When describing Serenity in “The Train Job,” River says, “Mid-bulk Transport. Standard Radion Accelerator core. Class code 03-K64–Firefly.” Want to know what the “K” stands for in the class code? The Japanese word for “firefly” is “kei.” It’s a pun.

-The kitchen walls in Serenity are yellow with decorative vine paintings—supposedly embellished by Kaylee.

-The uniforms worn by Alliance troops were originally worn in Starship Troopers (1997). After Firefly was discontinued, Starship Troopers rocked the uniform once again in the 2004 sequel.

-The sonic gun in “Trash” was also recycled as Dr. Horrible’s freeze ray. I guess the captain of both shows (Nathan Fillion) wasn’t the only thing they had in common.

-A toy Han Solo frozen in carbonite was hidden in at least one scene of every Firefly episode.

-The cast of Firefly would hang out on set in the ship’s lounge rather than take their breaks between scenes in the green room. Not very surprising, though—if you could crash in Serenity’s living room, wouldn’t you?

-The Enterprise from Star Trek, the Tantive IV from Star Wars and the Colonial Viper from Battlestar Galactica all had cameos in Firefly’s “Heart of Gold” episode.

-Nathan Fillion’s current show, Castle, makes many references to Firefly, including direct quotes, a passing comment that Castle learned Chinese from his last job, and even having Fillion play dress up as a ‘space cowboy,’ which is obviously a Malcolm Reynolds costume. Click here for a video.

 

 

Sources: http://www.fireflywiki.org/Firefly/FireflyTransport, http://furiousfanboys.com/2010/12/8-things-you-may-not-have-known-about-firefly/, http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2204947231&topic=1659, http://www.funtrivia.com/en/Television/Firefly-12087.html