March 19

Review – Oasis – An Amazon Original

LandingPage-OasisTile_GeicoPilotsW8_750x375._CB533696430_

Oasis is based on Michel Faber’s ‘The Book of Strange New Things’ and stars Richard Madden (Game of Thrones – Rob Stark) as Peter a priest haunted by his past, that is asked to travel to a colonized planet by an associate David Morgan played by Jonjo O’Neill. Oasis is a planet colonized by humans and is their last hope of survival since Earth (year 2032) is quickly becoming unable to sustain life. Once Peter arrives he finds out David Morgan has gone missing. To make things worse there is something that is not quite right as colonists are seeing apparitions that are causing them to do things with fatal consequences.

20697435

The story is intriguing and well written but one thing will need to be addressed is the fleshing out of the supporting characters which are paper thin and vanilla. I am sure if this show gets picked up their back story will receive some attention making them more viable. Speaking about supporting characters I was delighted to see Haley Joel Osment (Sixth Sense –  Cole Sear) playing Sy a botanist and one of my favorite British actors Mark Addy (A Knight’s Tale – Roland) playing Hallaoran both which Richard Madden’s character Peter meets on his travels.

bpbqrhrkzllbnyv5ecod

When the episode was finished I was pleasantly surprised finding myself wanting to watch the next episode and wondering if what the colonist are facing is the strain of being on a new planet, natives of the planet, or something else.

Head on over to Amazon and have a look I think you will find it an enjoyable watch.

Nerdy out!

March 18

Let the Pilots Fly!

Amazon.com is asking for help on choosing their next Amazon Original show. All you have to do is watch the pilot episode and take a quick survey of each show. Below I listed all 5 shows with a brief description and a hyper link so you can check it our yourself.

 

LandingPage-OasisTile_GeicoPilotsW8_750x375._CB533696430_

Oasis

Set in the near future, Oasis tells the story of priest Peter Leigh, who is called to a remote planet where a mysterious multinational company is building the first permanent off-Earth human colony. The planet, Oasis, is humanity’s last chance to escape from Earth’s impending collapse, but it quickly becomes apparent that it may not be as hospitable to humanity as it seems.
LandingPage-MrsMaiselTile_GeicoPilotsW8_750x375._CB533696428_

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

It’s 1958 Manhattan and Miriam “Midge” Maisel has everything she’s ever wanted – the perfect husband, kids, and Upper West Side apartment. But when her life suddenly takes a turn and Midge must start over, she discovers a previously unknown talent – one that will take her all the way from the comedy clubs of Greenwich Village to a spot on Johnny Carson’s couch.
LandingPage-MasterLegendTile_GeicoPilotsW8_750x375._CB533696429_

Legend of Master Legend

A dark comedy about the life of Master Legend – a real life superhero whose mission is the security and safety of the people of Las Vegas. Master Legend juggles the demands of justice with the even more complicated demands of his real family, who don’t see him as a hero at all.
LandingPage-NewVIPsTile_GeicoPilotsW8_750x375._CB533696431_

The New V.I.P.’s

Four low level employees seize control of a major corporation after accidentally murdering the CEO.
LandingPage-BuddingProspectTile_GeicoPilotsW8_750x375._CB533696466_

Budding Prospects

In 1983, three hapless guys from San Francisco are lured from their sex and drugs lifestyle to the countryside to grow marijuana. They find themselves stuck in a run-down cabin in the middle of nowhere, with harsh and unfriendly growing conditions, nosy neighbors, dangerous locals, and menacing law enforcement.

So head on over to Amazon.com and have a look!

Stay Nerdy!

September 26

Blurb – Stonhenge: What Lies Beneath?

For the last four years archaeologists from Birmingham and Bradford universities, and from the Ludwig Boltzman Institute in Vienna, have  been using powerful ground-penetrating radar around Stonehenge. What they have detected is a trove of previously unknown burial mounds, chapels, shrines, pits — and most remarkable of all — a massive megalithic monument made up of more than 50 giant stones buried along a 1,082-foot-long c-shaped enclosure.

Stonehenge: What's Underneath?
Stonehenge: What Lies Beneath?

If you are interested in knowing more about this magnificent discovery head over to i09.com to read more. You can find the two part series on YouTube Episode 1 and Episode 2.

Enjoy Nerds!

September 15

TV – AMC Orders A Pilot Episode Of ‘Walking Dead’ Spinoff Series!

Who does not like walking dead! I can tell you this nerd does! I know last season people thought it was a little long in the tooth with everyone split up and trying to find the mythical land of Terminus. But the gang is all back toghether and it looks like the backdrop will change every day since they will be on the move to the even bigger mythical city of Washington DC.

 

Walking Dead Season 5
Walking Dead Season 5

Back the actual cool news though. AMC has ordered a spinoff pilot of the Walking Dead franchise and even though there is very little information out about what it entails we do know one thing. The new series will answer one big question… “What is happening outside of George?” That is right this will not take place in Georgia it will be else where. My bet is Europe somewhere. I guess we will find out once the new series is launched!

Oh and as a reminder…. like you need one! The Walking Dead returns on October 12th at 9pm on AMC!

Later Nerds!

August 25

Blurb – Releases for 8/26/14!

Here is a list of releases that were scheduled to be in stores tomorrow 8-26-14. This is not an exhausted list (especially books where hundreds are released) but what caught my eye. If I missed something you think I should have mention or if you have a suggestion on what else to list every Tuesday let me know in the comments! Without further ado your releases for the week!

DVD Releases:

Blended

Belle

Legend of Oz: Dorothy’s Return

The Love Punch

The Double

Aftermath

Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhass

Cat Run 2

Cinemonovels

Criminal Minds: Season 9

Elementary: Season 2

Haven: Complete 4th Season

Heartland: Complete 4th Season

Heatstroke

Jackpot

North of Hell

Revenge: Season 3

Sons of Anarchy: Season 6

The Musketeers

Normal Heart

The Walking Dead Season 4

Trust Me

 

Video Games:

Super Time Force Ultra (PC) – August 25

Lichdom: Battlemage (PC) – August 26

Dark Souls II – Crown of the Old Iron King DLC (PS3, 360, PC) – August 26

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (Vita) – August 26

Infamous: Second Son – First Light DLC (PS4) – August 26

Madden NFL 15 (Xbox One, 360, PS4, PS3) – August 26

Metro Redux (Digitally as Metro: 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux, Xbox One, PS4, PC) – August 26

The Walking Dead: Season Two, Episode 5 – No Going Back – August 26 (PSN, PC), August 27 (360), August 28 (iOS)

Zen Pinball – The Walking Dead – August 26 (PSN), August 27 (360, PC), August 28 (Wii U, iOS, Android)

Azure Striker Gunvolt (3DS) – August 29

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright (3DS) – August 29

 

Books:

Minecraft: Combat Handbook: An Official Mojang Book (Scholastic)

Amulet #6: Escape From Lucien (Kibuishi)

Madden NFL 15: Prima Official Game Guide (Media Inc)

The Rule of Thoughts (Mortality Doctrine, Book Two) (The Mortality Doctrine) (Dashner)

The Lore of the Evermen (The Evermen Saga Book 4) (Maxwell)

The Art of John Alvin (Alvin)

Winter of the World: Book Two of the Century Trilogy (Follett)

The Star Wars Deluxe Edition

Later Nerds!

August 11

TV – Outlander

I have read most of Diana Gabaldon’s books in this series so when I heard Starz was creating a show based on the books I was very intrigued. What attracted me to the story was the time travel aspect with a bit of paganism (albeit small) thrown into the mix. Oh did I mention men in Kilts (admittedly most are nothing to look at…)?

Clair and Frank
Clair and Frank

The story takes place (in the beginning) a few months after World War II in 1945. Clair Randell and her husband Frank go on holiday to Scotland to reconnect after they had been apart during the war. They arrive at Inverness just before Samhain (Halloween) and spy on a pagan ritual (dancing only, no blood sacrifices here) being performed at a stone circle. Clair decides to visit the standing stones again to collect some flowers she saw the night before, but when she does she is teleported back in time and find herself in 1743 when she touches one of the stones.

Standing Stones
Standing Stones

She must get her barrings and adapt quickly to survive so she can make it back to the standing stones and return to her husband in 1945. However there are things that stand against her, one is her husband’s ancestor Jack Randell and the other is her heart as she slowly falls in love with Jamie a curly red head Scotsman (who look good in a kilt).

Clair and Jamie
Clair and Jamie

The show debuted on August 9th and I had to say I have already watched it 3 times. It does the books justice (if my memory recalls the books correctly) and at the end it leaves you wanting more.

Well done Starz and the cast and crew!

I cannot wait for the next episode!

August 8

TV – Dr. Who “Deep Breath” Synopsis

As most of you know the Doctor returns on August 23rd and BBC has released the official synopsis for the first episode “Deep Breath”.

The synopsis reads, ‘When the Doctor arrives in Victorian London he finds a dinosaur rampant in the Thames and a spate of deadly spontaneous combustions. Who is the new Doctor and will Clara’s friendship survive as they embark on a terrifying mission into the heart of an alien conspiracy? The Doctor has changed. It’s time you knew him.’

Deep Breath
Deep Breath

I am going to miss Mat Smith’s Doctor, I loved his quirky ways…. I guess all we can do is hold our breath to see just what type of Doctor Peter Capaldi brings!

A picture gallery of “Deep Breath” can be found here!

Later Nerds!

August 2

TV – Vin Diesel as the Almighty Melkor!

So the other night Vin Diesel was making his rounds to promote Guardians of the Galaxy (you can see my review here!) I am sure some of you know that I love me some Vin Diesel so when I heard he was going to appear on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon I had to watch. I knew he had a nerdy side but I had no idea he played D&D!  Head on over and watch him talk about his character Melkor and where if got the name. If you need a hint here is a picture I found!

Melkor King of the Dark Lord
Melkor – King of the Dark Lord

I am sure Vin had no idea who he named his character after. The first Dark Lord of Middle -Earth is pretty ambitious.

Enjoy Nerds!

July 31

TV – Walking Dead Season 5 Preview

Holy crap! Excuse me while I calm down….

OK I just watched the preview trailer for Walking Dead Season 5 that debuted at San Diego Comic Con and I all but fell out of my freaking chair! I know a lot of people were a bit critical about last season, but if this trailer represents what we can expect this season we are in for one intense ride! Last season we had the crispy burnt zombies. This season we have water logged zombies and they are so incredibly disgusting. I love how the Walking Dead crew keeps reinventing them. The last part of the trailer leaves you wondering if Beth is actually in Terminus and if not who the hell has her!

Daryl Dixon
Daryl Dixon

Is it October yet? I am not sure I can wait that long.

Later Nerds!