Tuesday, 3 November 2009

The Week In Geek...

A round-up of geeky news you might have otherwise missed...

(1) Savage Sprawl: Top Savage Worlds licensee Triple Ace Games has launched the first of its new line of cyberpunk adventures, Family Affair & Extraction 101. The company is also offering a free download of cyberpunk rules for Savage Worlds and some pre-generated characters.

(2) Tolkien From The Grave: JRR Tolkien is the fifth most successful dead celebrity according to the latest Forbes list of the top-earning deceased (mainly due to recent litigation over the Lord of The Rings film rights).

(3) Gatiss Will Be First Man On The Moon: Doctor Who actor and writer Mark Gatiss is to star in his own 90-minute adaptation of HG Wells' First Men In The Moon for BBC4.

(4) Essays On Who: In May 2010, Mad Norwegian Press will be publishing Time, Unincorporated 2, its second collection of fanzine articles and original essays on the Classic Era of Doctor Who.

(5) Share A Drink With The Princess Of The Internet: Carrie 'Princess Leia' Fisher has launched her own blog to coincide with her new one woman show Wishful Drinking. She can also now be found on Twitter.

(6) Mad Max Roars Back: Filming is due to start on Mad Max: Fury Road, the fourth installment in the post-apocalyptic series, next year - but without Mel Gibson.

(7) Let The Hunt Begin: The first book of adventures for the Supernatural RPG is now available in pdf form; and don't forget that the quickstart rules (with pregen characters and an adventure) is available for free.

(8) Top Ten Scariest Urban Legends: A selection of classic campfire tales and modern folklore that you can work on and perfect before telling them for Halloween 2010!

(9) Taking It To The Streets: Dungeons & Dragons as street entertainment in San Francisco.

(10) Ridley's Loving The Alien Again: Ridley Scott's prequel to Alien is happening soon(ish).

(11) Hannibal Lecter Is Odin: Anthony Hopkins has been cast as Odin in Kenneth Branagh's forthcoming Thor movie, based on the Marvel comic.

(12) Grand Moff Backs Smith: Incoming Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat declares Matt Smith, the 11th Doctor, as "the best" (but then he would, wouldn't he?)

(13) When Waters Run: The next Doctor Who special episode, The Waters Of Mars, will air on BBC1 at 7pm on Sunday, November 15. Meanwhile John 'The Master' Simm has said the remaining two specials will be shown on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

(14) Sparrow Creates Oscar Flap: Carey Mulligan, who played fan favourite Sally Sparrow in Doctor Who's Blink, is tipped for an Oscar after her performance in An Education.

(15) Metropolis Lives: The first uncut screening in over 80 years of Fritz Lang's Metropolis is scheduled for the Berlin Film Festival in February 2010.

(16) More Proud Zombies: An official prequel to Pride And Prejudice And Zombies has been announced. Pride And Prejudice And Zombies: Dawn Of The Dreadfuls is due out in March, 2010.

(17) A Date With Dresden: The long-awaited Dresden Files roleplaying game has a provisional publication date in June 2010.

(18) Daily Vader: A collection of amusing photographs showing the everyday life of a Sith Lord.

(19) Knock, Knock, Knock: The third issue of Knockspell magazine is out for old school gamers, featuring - among other things - The Anti-Paladin class; a true throwback to my gaming youth!

(20) 'Drunk' Ewoks On Rampage: The headline says it all - great clip from the pre-Halloween Star Wars special on The Today Show.

(21) Tony Talks: The great Two-Minute Time Lord podcast talks to Tony Lee, the best current writer of Doctor Who comic books.

(22) Wooden Who: The first clip of new Doctor Who cartoon Dreamland has not been well received by some fans (myself included) because of the sub-video game standard animation.

4 persons have something to say about this!:

Siskoid said...

(4) Was vol.1 any good?

(6) Oh nostalgia, can't you leave well enough alone?

(11) I can see it.

(14) Mmmm... Carey Mulligan...

(22) I really liked the Infinite Quest style. You're right that this one is just terrible.

The Acrobatic Flea said...

"(4) Was vol.1 any good?
(6) Oh nostalgia, can't you leave well enough alone?
(22) I really liked the Infinite Quest style. You're right that this one is just terrible.
"

4. Can't say I'm afraid, Mad Norwegian just sent me the press release on this as I belong to their Facebook group.
6. I reckon this'll be good - fast cars, post-apocalyptic Australian outback, same old director... what's not to like?
22. I was really concerned at first that it was just me. I feel a bit sorry for the Beeb, but I'm pleased others can see how awful it looks as well.

Siskoid said...

(4) I've got a lot of Mad Norwegian product in the house already, so I'll probably be telling YOU if it's any good one day ;)

(6) Nice that it's the same director. Could be interesting. (That's also how they got my ghopes up about Alien 0).

(22) I don't know what the hell they're thinking, but it's the first time I've strongly considered not picking up a Doctor Who story on DVD if and when it comes out.

The Acrobatic Flea said...

22 There was a comment from a BBC bod on the official site claiming that the technical issues were to do with the way the video was transferred to the website and the 'real thing' would be a lot better.

I guess we'll have to wait and see, but I really hope it's not as shocking as that preview - that would be a massive disappointment!

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I was a regular salaryman, earning a crust with my meager writing skills, until an aneurysm tore open my aorta unexpectedly in early 2005. I suffered a stroke during surgery and a collapsed lung afterwards. I have since realised that I now have a new chance at life, which (body willing) I shall indulge in with positiveness, happiness and the good companionship of my wonderful wife. The Acrobatic Flea handle comes from the name of my favourite - and most successful - Villains & Vigilantes RPG character in the '80s.
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