Fri, 2 June 2017
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew starts a Starbound server and learns about the administrative side of online multiplayer gaming while D. helps to make a game better by playing the PS4 beta release of Marvel Heroes Omega. FAR CRYING: The trailer and promotional artwork for Ubisoft's Far Cry 5 has inflamed a certain demographic of gamers, or has it? Our humble hosts investigate this conundrum. WORKS CITED:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Stayin' in Black" by Wax Audio
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Fri, 26 May 2017
WEEK IN GEEK: Fueled by the emotions generated by the recently released trailer for Star Trek: Discovery, Andrew slipped back into the Star Trek pool by spinning up Star Trek Online and Star Trek Timelines while D. reads the first trade collection of Eric Powell's (formerly of The Goon) newest comic series, Hillbilly, from Albatross Funnybooks. EXHAUSTED DESPAIR: D. Bethel saw the newest entry into the venerated Alien/Aliens franchise, Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant, and definitely had feelings about it. Fueled by an online discussion generated by The Hollywood Reporter article, "'Why Alien: Covenant' Is Actually a 'Blade Runner' Sequel in Disguise" by Josh Spiegel (and because Andrew hasn't seen the new movie yet), it seemed only right to bring on friend of the show and Alien enthusiast, Taylor Katcher, to talk what worked and what didn't work in this new movie. WORKS CITED: Spiegel, Josh. "Why 'Alien: Covenant' Is Actually a 'Blade Runner' Sequel in Disguise." The Hollywood Reporter. 20 May 2017. WORKS CONSULTED: Couch, Aaron. "'Alien: Covenant' Screenwriter on the Michael Fassbender Scene That 'Easily Could Have Gone Wrong.'" The Hollywood Reporter. 21 May 2017. LINKS:
For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Stayin' in Black" by Wax Audio
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Fri, 19 May 2017
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew learns about the seedy underbelly of LEGO knock-offs while Dan preps for the upcoming Wonder Woman movie by watching the 2009 animated film. DOCTOR WHO KNEW?: Dan and Andrew discuss their skeptical praise for the current series of Doctor Who. Five episodes in and all episodes have been undeniably good so far. Should they be waiting with baited breath for the show to stumble as it has done for the last five series? Or should they let their freak flag fly once again? WAKING LIFE: Remedy Entertainment's 2010 sleeper hit, Alan Wake, was summarily pulled from all digital storefronts last weekend due to the lapsing of the licenses paid for music featured in the game. It's a strange situation considering exactly how many games––even those released before Alan Wake––use licensed music and are still available for purchase. LINKS:
For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Stayin' in Black" by Wax Audio
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Fri, 12 May 2017
WEEK IN GEEK: With Andrew sick this week, the Shortcast ends up being a bit more organic than normal with both Andrew and D. sharing stories about this year's Free Comic Book Day festivities. Specifically, Andrew got his hardback copy of Ms. Marvel, volume 1 signed by the creator herself, G. Willow Wilson, while Dan discusses the Hulu Original documentary, Batman & Bill. LINKS:.
For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Thunder Busters" by Wax Audio
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Fri, 5 May 2017
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew takes another dip into the Humble Bundle and comes out playing Renowned Explorers: International Society while Dan gets nostalgic (again) playing Disney Afternoon Collection. LUDO-NARRATIVE DISSONANCE: Noted video game critic, Ian Bogost, got blood boiling when he wrote the salaciously titled, "Video Games Are Better Without Stories," for The Atlantic. D. and Andrew investigate the argument Bogost is making––its good points and its flaws––while also talking about why people play games in the first place. Dan talked about Ian Bogost's book, How to Talk About Video Games, back in "Episode 76 - Beepop." NOTES:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Stayin' in Black" by Wax Audio
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Fri, 28 April 2017
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew puts his manual dexterity and patience to the test while assembling the LEGO Creator Expert Parisian Restaurant set, while Dan can't stop playing Double Fine's recent release of Full Throttle Remastered. LAPSING SUBSCRIPTIONS: DC Comics announced that the third season of the fan-beloved Young Justice animated series, which will be called Young Justice: Outsiders, will be an exclusive release on DC's as-of-yet unreleased subscription streaming service. It marks yet another step in content providers eschewing more popular platforms like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime in favor of doing something similar but centralizing around their specific content. Is this where streaming is heading, to a diversified subscription market? Or is it a swing at extra revenue that will ultimately be futile? D. Bethel and Andrew discuss. WORKS REFERENCED:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Stayin' in Black" by Wax Audio
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Fri, 21 April 2017
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew plays super sentai producer in Chroma Squad while D. Bethel gets introspective while drawing old high school characters for his "Sketch Fridays" series at LongJohnComic.com. THE BEGINNING OF THE END: The final Doctor Who series to feature current Doctor, Peter Capaldi, and current showrunner, Steven Moffat, began last weekend with "The Pilot," which also introduced the new companion, Bill Potts. Dan and Andrew discuss their reactions to the episode. NERD LAW - YOUTUBE EDITION: Andrew dusts off his non-advisory expertise to talk about a recent situation that occurred during Dan's livestream of God of War III. They talk copyright, YouTube's priorities, and Chinese variety shows. LINKS:
For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Stayin' in Black" by Wax Audio
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Fri, 14 April 2017
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew watched the live action remake of the Disney animated feature, Beauty and the Beast and D. Bethel discusses his experience at this year's Sacramento Indie Arcade Expo. REGRESSIVE RESURRXION: First, the comic book news cycle went nuts because the first post-Inhumans vs. X-Men book was released, X-Men Gold, which was then subsumed by the fact that people seemed to like it, which was then subsumed by the likelihood that X-Men Gold artist, Ardian Syaf, may have placed possibly intolerant symbology in not-so-hidden places throughout the book. Then it turned out that he definitely did that. It has been a roller coaster of news and insight into Indonesian politics (where Syaf resides) that has been mostly very sad and upsetting for X-Men fans. THE TWO MASTERS: On the threshold of the debut of Doctor Who's Series 10, it was revealed that actor John Simm would be returning to the show in his former role as The Master, the longtime foe of the show's titular hero. Last seen at David Tennant's departure from the lead role, he returns during the tenure of his successor, Michelle Gomez as Missy. What this means for the episode(s) in which they appear together (the last one or two of the season), we can't yet say, but both Dan and Andrew are pretty excited about it. WORKS CITED:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Stayin' in Black" by Wax Audio
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Fri, 7 April 2017
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew muses on cinematic magic of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them while Dan can't shut up about the podcast, S-Town. INAPPROPRIATE APPROPRIATION: Dan and Andrew can't ignore the strange vortex created by the controversies surrounding the cultural tone-deafness of Netflix/Marvel's Iron Fist, the backlash to the live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, and the recent shifty comments of Marvel's VP of Sales, David Gabriel, regarding sales and the recent surge of diversity in the Marvel Universe. What the hell is going on? WORKS REFERENCED:
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For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Stayin' in Black" by Wax Audio
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Fri, 31 March 2017
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew plays catch-up after the Guestcast by letting us know about his time with the indie game, Turmoil, as well as discussing his experience with Alton Brown's live show, Eat Your Science, while Dan talks about reboots and his hesitancy going into the first two issues of DC Comics' new series, The Wild Storm. MASS REJECTS: As Andrew reported, the new Bioware game, Mass Effect Andromeda, has met with a lot of criticism. However, said criticism is all over the map. Dan and Andrew get deep talking about expectations, Mass Effect, fandoms, and video games as cultural expressions. WARNING: the hosts get a little worked up.
For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap. FEATURED MUSIC: -"Stayin' in Black" by Wax Audio
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