As a matter of fact, that very same film is in need of some geek assistance. We have found ourselves in need of a Sasquatch. If anyone has a Sasquatch costume, or (more likely) an adult-sized Chewbacca costume that they don’t mind us modifying, please shoot me an e-mail at milos_parker at yahoo dot com. Again, if you have a Chewbacca costume, we’re going to be modifying it beyond recognition– so no collector’s items.

We have $0, but will cover S+H.

Podcast #6 is being worked on right now. I’m building the post for it.

Here’s something hilarious for you until then:

Click and enjoy!

I’m not sure if this site has the ones that were ‘bulk erased’ by the BBC, but I’m watching some of the Patrick Troughton episodes, including the VERY first appearance of the good Doctor and the Tardis, followed by the VERY first appearance of those mechanical mutants we love to hate, The Daleks!

While watching, It’s interesting to note how little the Tardis interior, and theme music has changed, at least until the Colin Baker years. Otherwise, a good find.

Also, I plan on continuing my review of Champions Online. I want to wait for the next patch (the current one messed some features, plus they are supposedly introducing new zones)

See more at The Official Wife Crying at Movies Site

Of course, if there’s anything to cry about, it’s that they appear to have watched the Star Wars movies in the order of 1-6, because she keeps sobbing about Anakin and Padme.  It’s disturbing that there’s a whole generation for whom the revelation in “Empire Strikes Back” is not a plot twist.

Jeez, I did a lot of work getting the embed URLs for all of those Twitter Tracker segments and other materials I’ve linked to, and now NBC yanks them all.  Now my Conan O’Brien tags in the tag cloud are needless.

As you all know, I’m in Conan’s camp.  Jay may have gotten some unfair squeezing out by NBC back in 2004, but he did agree to step down from the Tonight Show.

Blaming it all on Conan’s ratings is a bit unfair for two reasons: he was doing well with the key demographic, and he had an awful lead-in that was driving viewers away from NBC completely for the night.

In it, Patrick Dempsey plays a 17-year-old geek who arranges for a senior class hottie to date him for a month so that the “In Crowd” will consider him to be one of them. As the month wanes, the cheerleader sees him as a real person and begins to fall for him, especially when he takes them out for their last date. As they look through his telescope at the moon, he tells her that when he is his dad’s age there will be people living and working on the moon.

And then it hit me. 1987? His dad is played by Dennis Dugan of The Unidentified Flying Oddball
, who was 41 in 1987. I was a 17-year-old geek myself in 1987, so that math is pretty easy for me to do: Patrick’s character would be turning 41 in 2011.

Are we living on the moon yet? No. We’re even canceling the next generation of space travel.

Oh well, movies never get the future right. “2010: The Year We Make Contact” thought we’d still be locked in a space race with the U.S.S.R., and there are only five more years to invent hoverboards. On the plus side, I think Back to the Future 2 was a bit conservative in thinking the trend among teenagers would be to wear clothing inside outs. Last week, in 5 degree Fahrenheit and blowy Minnesota, I saw a punk walking down the street with his entire boxer shorts showing above his jeans, which he could only be supporting with his thighs. (Idiot.)

No jet-packs, no flying cars, no living on the moon. The only monumental thing to happen since 1987 is they remade “Can’t Buy Me Love.”

Part Two:

The POTUS’ Chief of Staff is a bit of a prick.

Omar’s brother looks like Ringo Star.

Chloe still rocks.

Poor Gwyneth.  She will, of course, be innocent and someone else is the threat.

Block 2: It’s as if Chloe hasn’t had any character development for the last several years.  She’s right back to where she was in her first season.

Ringo says, “Tell me everything.”  Sicko.  Why do I have the feeling he’s the inside — OH! Didn’t even finish the sentence. He is.  There he is conspiring with the talking potato.

Block 3: Dana Walsh is Jenny?  Hmmm.  Okay, where is this plot going to go?

Awww.  Chloe’s pout is just too cute.

See, now Jack commits to the fact that he needs to be involved, and he’s on the case.  If only it wasn’t a pain to get to this part each and every season.

Block 4: Oooo.  How awesome is that isolation room?

Oh no! Jenny’s secret is that she’s white trash?

Block 5: Potato guy’s a cop?

Jack’s still walking to the armory in the same building?  Cripes, there was an ad break!  That’s enough time for him to drive across Los Angeles!

This is the most light I’ve ever seen in CTU.  It looks more like the Men in Black HQ.

This poor couple is going to be killed as soon as they’re done co-operating.  Just once, I’d like to see someone realize that.

NOTE: I’m DVR-delayed, so it’s not quite “live”, but for all intents and purposes…

First block: It’s awesome to see Jack happy instead of on-the-run, or returning from captivity, as the season begins.

Okay, the beard guy.  Is he supposed to be similar to the head of Iran, or what?

Second block: Beard guy is “Omar Hassan”.  Funny, since he reminds me of Omar Sharif.  I like his brother.

U.N. Building.  Okay, so this one is in New York.  Just once, I’d like to see a season where the incident is somewhere like Oshkosh Wisconsin so that it makes sense that they cross the city during an ad break.

Odd to see Chloe needing computer help.

I saw Mykelti Williamson (Bubba from “Forrest Gump”) listed in the credits.  I think he’s playing the head of CTU, but I haven’t seen him in anything in ages so I can’t be absolutely sure.

Third Block: Okay, so Hassan is the head of “the Islamic Republic”, but obviously he’s a very different person from Imamadinahead.

Why doesn’t Jack disguise the guy as a woman or something while trying to move him?

I’m not following this whole subplot about the people with the wedding.  Who the heck are they?  I guess the problem is I’m typing when they’re talking.

Fourth Block: Hmm.  Are women allowed to be that openly abusive to their husbands in Iranian society?

I don’t remember what the blonde reporter is named.  I’m going to call her “Gwyneth Paltrow”.

Mr. Cole Ortiz must be the engaged guy.  So, all this talk of the wedding is either a season-long subplot or a way to make us extra-sad when he gets killed.

JACK KILL COUNT: Two. One by fire ax. One railing kill.

Helicopter is blown up.  Wow.  Am I really right about Ortiz already?  Oh, no, I’m not.  The dead guy is the informant.

Next up, gameplay

If only I didn’t detest this show, I’d almost watch that one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-wDPoC6GM

Rowan Atkinson makes a terrific Doctor. His companion is the lead chicken from Chicken Run. The Master is played by the main character from Brazil. And then the conclusion brings out a parade of British comedians.

Enjoy!

First, a bit of history…

Champions began as a pen and paper RPG back in the early 80s. It would spawn the HERO system, which could be used for a variety of different genres (fantasy, space, secret agents, etc.). Plans were made for a computer game based on the series, but was eventually scrapped. After a brief revival in the RPG field, the game has finally entered cyberspace.

The theme of the game is simple. You start out as an up and coming hero who can choose from a wide selection of powers, ranging from strength, speed, magic, etc, to help protect Millennium City. During gameplay, you will encounter a wide range of foes, almost all stemming from the RPG. These include the muscled monster Grond(basically a four armed Hulk) the furious and fun loving Foxbat (sort of like Die Fleidermaus from The Tick, except worse) and the ultimate arch fiend, Dr. Destroyer. Villain groups include my personal favorite VIPER(like COBRA, except with brains) PSI (an organization where all members have some sort of Psionic powers) and possibly others.

Next installment, I will cover game mechanics, and comparisons between the other Superhero MMO, City of Heroes.

One change they made was that they not only kept Robert Llewellyn as Kryten, but they introduced him in the pilot as an official member of Red Dwarf. Sadly, this negates his hilarious background as the caretaker for three hot women who’ve survived an accident, but when the Dwarfers arrive they find three skeletons that Kryten has been maintaining for eons. However, his altered history makes for the one truly hilarious moment in the US pilot. (It’s at the very end of this clip.)

If you haven’t seen it, it’s the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey. It doesn’t have Kubrick’s vision, but it does have action and a plot that makes more sense. The special effects and acting are top-notch. Unfortunately, the movie still has us fighting the Cold War against the Soviet Union in 2010, and this makes it horribly outdated.

Turner Classic Movies seems to be making a few changes for 2010; they now show movies made in the 1980s and the 1990s! (“L.A. Confidential”, which is only a decade old, is on in a couple days.) Here’s hoping this only means that they’ve expanded their range for what they consider “classics”, because I remember when American Movie Classics suddenly started showing “Turner and Hooch” and shortly afterward renamed themselves America’s Movie Crapfest, er, Channel.

I don’t even have any Amazon links for this one, because sadly enough, it was never released on video.

Recorded June 30th. I had to laugh when I heard what I say at 55:05.

Mentioned in this podcast:
Erik’s “Creature Stole My Twinkie” T-shirt on Zazzle; we also discuss blogging at his Burnhamania site.

Hey, do you like the new Carousel Tool? If for any reason that isn’t working, here are all the same products the old way. (I painstakingly did this before I found the Carousel.

Stili, It’s not the same without Dave yelling at Alvin, but that’s just me.