When Christmas lands on just the right day, you tend to get a good number of days off, including weekends of course. With four days off in a row and all the Xmas obligations I tend to forget what day it is, and in turn the last time I wrote a blog. I've spent my non-blog time watching movies, Xmas shopping, and playing Guitar Hero III. A good amount of time has been scouring New Haven County for Rock Band. This is obviously the Tickle Me Elmo of gaming. I knew this would happen (justifying its an awesome game) but I tried anyway. Nowhere to be found. Now, I'll have to stake out all my favorite places before the end of the year, hoping they get new shipments or someone returned an unopened box. The employees of the stores I went to showed my they had the game, just not the box with the instruments. HUH? You can't buy any of the three instruments (I'm counting the Mic as an instrument) separately so why bother playing the game; it kind of defeats the purpose of having it. On the X360 the Guitar Hero III controllers (and third party guitars) will work but you lose out on the drums, until they go on sale in February. Funny, I did find lots of PS3 Rock Band sets. In the mean time, I've found new life in GH3 with co-op mode and unlocking more achievements.
My "Secret Santa" at work bought me Spider-Man 3 on DVD so I'm watching the all three this vacation. I never realised how much Tobey Maguire cries throughout the saga. If he doesn't marry MJ by the fourth movie, I'm done with Spidey. I can't take it. He's already married in the comics, so make it work Mr. Raimi. I'm not really adding anything new here, but I'm impressed with the number of background characters from the comics represented in their pre-evil forms. Even the first movie Jameson refers to Eddie Brock and I missed it. However, Sam Raimi just took a bunch of plot elements, put them in a blender, and reattached them to different characters. Gwen Stacy is by far the anomaly. She suddenly pops up in number 3 when she ought to have been around since the beginning, and her death has already been mirrored by Green Goblin's attempt on MJ in the first one. These aren't really complaints since I've enjoyed all three, but we know these characters and suddenly they're out of sequence, or something. Kind of like the Marvel Ultimate line of comics, reboots of the comic franchises. I read one Spider-Man issue were he was going out with Kiddy Pride, which actually made sense at the time. Maybe we'll get the Vulture in the next movie.
I went out to see National Treasure 2 this weekend and Bruce Greenwood played the US President. You may remember Bruce Greenwood from I, Robot, but more importantly he will be Christopher Pike in the new Star Trek movie. Since I read about him I had always thought he was too old to be Pike, then I remembered a little tidbit of info. The only time we see Pike (other than the mutilated, wheel-pod bound beeping Admiral) is on a video that took place thirteen (13) years prior to the episode. So step it up a decade and maybe Pike could look more like Bruce Greenwood. I read in interview with JJ Abrams, and his writers, assuring Trek fans everywhere this isn't a "reboot" per say, like "Batman Begins." The movie takes place in the established continuum, when Spock from the "current" post-TNG era (circa 2375) goes back in time to help his former (younger) self deal with some Romulan issue. The past time period takes place before 2366, the first time We see the whole crew (sans Chekov) together. This movie is supposed to show how the crew formed and how the Kirk-Spock-McCoy friendship started. I've spent entirely too much time in the Star Trek continuity to want to see something that isn't part of the five (5) shows and ten (10) movies, so I'm happy to report that the new movie will not contradict what came before and hopeful reinvigorate the franchise, without the need for a "Reboot." And, if we need any more reason to see "Cloverfield," the first previews of Star Trek will be shown.
And speaking of Star Trek, Saturday (Dec 22) was the 40th Anniversary of the Second Season episode "Wolf In The Fold." This is one of the classics; a murder mystery that ties Jack The Ripper with an intergalactic entity that feeds on fear.Scotty is blamed for the murder of three women while on shore leave. On the surface this sounds like a typical episode but let me tell you what really happens in the story. Just prior to the opening Scotty receives a concussion when a female crewmember causes an explosion in his face. As part of his trauma he resents and hates all women, which doesn't sit well with Kirk (I wonder why). Kirk decides to head to Argelius II, a poor man's Risa. In other words, a strategically positioned Pleasure Planet. McCoy supports Kirk on his rehabilitation of Scott by taking him to a strip club. If seeing half-naked women, dancing to snake-charmer music, wearing tinsel doesn't fix you on women nothing will. Scotty, immediately feeling, escorts a young lass Kirk hooks him up with (so Kirk's a pimp now) to "escort" her home. Luckily the planet is perpetually covered in fog and she's murdered with out any witnesses and Scotty blacks out. This happens like two (2) more times WHILE SCOTTY IS IN CUSTODY FOR MURDER, and he's continually to blame for everything. Bypassing all sorts of legalities Kirk takes the case up the Enterprise. Eventually it is discovered that the Chief Of Security for the planet, a Mr. Hengist (played by the voice of Piglet, John Fiedler), has been followed by a non-corporeal entity, known as Red Jack, that feeds on fear, and can hide in humanoid bodies, causing amnesia. So Scotty really did kill them, wow. Knifed each of them like twelve (12) times. Red Jack floats around the ship trying to scare people so Kirk orders everyone to be inoculated with Space Weed or Space PCP. Red Jack, unable to feed, goes back in to Hengist, who is then disabled and put in a transporter, then beamed into space at full dispersion, killing it. Everyone is now high on the Enterprise, so what does Kirk do? Send them all down to Argelius II for detox/shore leave. Recap: PTSD Scotty taken to Strip Club planet, possessed by Jack The Ripper murders three (3) women, cleared of all charges on Enterprise, crew given Space Marajuana, kills Red Jack, crew given shoreleave while high. Areglius II must hate Starfleet. My favorite part is when "Piglet" starts screaming "I'll kill her, I'll kill you all."
On a side note, I was playing Guitar Hero when I noticed an ad, on the wall of the virtual bar I was virtually playing in, for Terminator: The Sarah Jane Chronicles. Does this mean my Xbox is advertising from Xbox Live straight to the game. Thanks MicroSoft; this is like in-game spam. Then I came across a preview for the show on XBL and I have to say I like it. I want this show. Didn't see much of River/Summer Glau as the female Terminator but I have faith. So I'm watching all three (3) movies again to divine any knowledge I may have overlooked. It sounds like the TV show will ignore the third movie and just be a sequel to Judgment Day. It also appears we have a Fourth movie in the works, called Terminator Salvation. I noticed the lack of number, so will this be in the TV show chronology or the movie chronology? I love Time Travel movies. See you next broadcast.
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