Geekasaurus Mike

7/8/12

LOTR: The 3rd Age Let's Play1 pt.1

6/25/12

Every once in awhile, a movie comes along that challenge our notions of good and evil. A film where we must wonder who is truly the monster. A movie that turns our nightmares, into our friends. I can say, good people, with great confidence, that Sci-Fi has created such a masterpiece. They called it: Jersey Shore Shark Attack.

Oh this si just going to be a treat...

For indeed, who could not have empathy with the noble creatures of the sea as we follow their plight against the nightmarish, alien creatures that haunt the shore?

HIDE YOUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN!!

I'm sorry, but the actually citizens of the titular Jersey Shore cannot possibly be the heroes of the movie. Each and every one is a vain, loud-mouthed, self-centered lunatic, and frankly, you'll hope to see more get eaten with each passing scene. At least it's an "original" cast, with such memorable characters as "The Complication" and "Nookie." I bet you can't think of a single specific other program that has used names incredibly similar to that.

So what is this movie about? Well, the story goes that a greedy oil tycoon...or business owner...something like that, is using some kind of underwater tool that is attracting "albino sharks" to the shore. The sharks eat a few people (FAR too few in my opinion) the main cast catches on to the threat and proceeds to...throw fireworks at the sharks. Yes. That is plan A. Of course it doesn't work and they end up blowing up the boat of the people we're clearly not supposed to like, but who, frankly, have every good reason to hate the main characters given the whole, you know...blowing up their boat thing.

THESE people. I cannot even bring myself to side against THESE people.

Easily the best character of the flick is former singing icon Joey Fatone. His performance of an old singer wondering just what in the hell has happened to his career to lead him to Jersey Shore is just spot on. You can really tell that he is almost living his performance.

I'm sorry, you want me to act in WHAT?

Yeah, some other stuff happens, but I suppose you'd have no reason to see the movie if I told you about it here. However, do I recommend you see it? Well, almost every aspect of the film is so terrible its funny, so I suppose if you have nothing else to do with your evening, you might just find a chuckle with this flick.

5/25/12

The Doctors of Doctor Who: Tom Baker

After John Pertwee left the show in 1974 and the then unheard of Tom Baker (who was, at the time of selection, working construction jobs. ). They had no way of knowing, however, that they had selected who was to becoming the longest running, and most iconic image of the Doctor, if not in the whole series, then in the classic serial.

After the third Doctor contracted a fatal case of radiation poisoning, he regenerated at the end of Planet of the Spiders. The new man eagerly ditched Earth to once again roam amongst the stars.

So long and thanks for all the fish...or jelly babies...

This Doctor would probably be the one that those familiar only to the new series could pick up on the most. Baker was silly, manic, had a niche for technobabble, but still had a dark, brooding, if not downright sinister side. This was the Mad Hatter of the Doctors. He was also far more distant and solitary, considering himself at home neither on Gallifrey nor on Earth. He was still interested in humanity (even calling them his “favorite species”) but it was definitely from an outsider's prospective.

This was also one of the more confrontational Doctors, having to issue with using weapons (non-lethal and otherwise) as well as taking the martial arts expertise of his immediate predecessor. Oh, and there were jelly babies. Oh so many jelly babies.

Of course, the thing that everyone remembers about this particular Doctor is his appearance. Tom Baker sported absurdly curly hair, eyes that continually bugged out, and very prominent teeth. To add to this already striking visage, the doctor wore a 14 foot long, multicolored scarf allegedly knitted for him by Madam Nostrodamus.

This is either a kookey alien or a Bond villain...I'm not sure which

As with any series that lasts as long as Baker's, the story style changed throughout his tenure. At the beginning of the run, the show seemed to lean more towards horror and suspense. Although many fans of the classic series view these as the best stories of the whole show, the darker and darker tone was under a lot of criticism, and admittedly did not play to Baker's strengths. Therefore, 1977 saw a switch over to a lighter, more humorous style of show. It was during this time that author Douglas Adams began writing for the show, to mixed reactions. Some believe that the Hitchhiker's Guide author was a flop, while others rave that he was the best thing since regeneration.

Finally, the show went an entirely new, sombre direction, as the Doctor began to become more melancholy to the point of near-depression. This theme of grim decay continued all the way to his regeneration in Logopolis, where he suffers a fatal fall from a high wire.

Baker did not appear as the Doctor in any subsequent specials (his role in The Five Doctors being comprised of unused shots from his original run) and seemed to dislike his unbreakable connection to the character. Despite him, however, the fourth Doctor continued to be the hands-down favorite of the audience, losing in only two polls for “Best Doctor” to Sylvester McCoy (the 7^th Doctor) and David Tennant (the 10^th).

But, as long lasting and popular as he was, Tom Baker had to eventually step down, and the studio decided, once again, to in a completely new direction with the character...