Tube Talk: Sunday Nights

Aaron Paul & Bryan Cranston from 'Breaking Bad'

Tube Talk: Sunday Nights

Spoiler Warning!!!

Well it’s that time again: great TV viewing on Sunday Nights. I have my PVR set to record multiple shows and I will attempt to break down each as best I can.

- Breaking Bad (AMC): Well we are down to the final episode of this great series. The last season has been nothing but epic. The last 2 episode in particular were amazing to watch. I cannot wait for the final episode. I will have to watch it a day later as I will be working…hopefully I won’t get spoiled BEFORE watching it. Also having actor Robert Forester guest star on last Sundays episode was great. Too bad we could not have seen him sooner.



- Talking Bad (AMC): Much like ‘Talking Dead’, the companion talk show to ‘The Walking Dead’, AMC has decided to do this talk show format for BB. Chris Hardwick also hosts this show. Being a huge BB fan and having Vince Gilligan, Dean Norris, Anna Gunn and the other actors on and answering some questions was awesome. Glad they are doing this show, just wished they had done it sooner.





- Dexter (Showtime/Movie Central): Well I have to first say I enjoyed the final season, which just ended last Sunday. Did I like the final episode: NO I did not. I’ve said it before that this was a series that had a lot of potential and could have gone to some really neat places, but in the end they didn’t. I really felt the final episode and the decisions Dexter (and the writing staff) made were dumb and really not tryue to the character or the show itself. It was sad to see a show I had been following for 8 years end the way it did. (I really miss Julie Benz and John Lithgow on this show…just saying…)

- Ray Donovan (Showtime/Movie Central): This show premiered right after the first episode of ‘Dexter’ this summer, and I was hooked right away. It takes place in LA where Ray Donovan (played by the great Liev Schreiber), who is originally from South Boston, is a "fixer" for the powerful law firm Goldman & Drexler that represents the rich and famous. However, he experiences his own problems when his father, Mickey Donovan (played to perfection by Jon Voight), is unexpectedly released from prison. So far I loved this series and I intend to continue viewing next season. It was a surprise hit for me. Worth checking out for sure!



- Boardwalk Empire (HBO): Season 4 just started a few weeks ago and I still love this period drama about prohibition and gangsters in the 1920’s. Steve Buscemi is amazing as ‘Nucky Thompson’. Last season, especially the season finale was amazing and this series has a lot to live up to but so far so good.



- True Blood (HBO): Dropped this show after last season. Done and done.



- Walking Dead (AMC) premieres October 13th!! I cannot wait. Looking forward to checking out their companion series set to debut in 2015!!



Other TV other Nights of the week:



- Under The Dome (CBS Monday Nights): I had been enjoying this series in the beginning then I fell off about half way. I kept tabs on it, watched most of the episodes because my wife really liked the series but I found myself questioning why I was still watching. I never read the Stephen king novel from which it is based but I can’t help but feel it should be darker. Dean Norris (Breaking Bad) is excellent as ‘Big Jim’ on this series, but I find the supporting cast tends to fall flat. Some of the plotlines make no sense and some of the acting is terrible at best. Not to say this is a bad series, I do enjoy some aspects of it. It has been renewed for a second season so my wife will be sticking with it, and I’ll keep tabs on it but I wish it would go darker and weirder.

See you next time for an update. Go break some bad!

This week’s assignment from the League: Pet Peeves

This week’s assignment from the League: Pet Peeves

Let’s all take a deep breath this week and let off a little steam. This week’s assignment for the League of Extraordinary Bloggers is…

—

Pet peeves.

—

Being a comic book fan I have some pet peeves with the current state of the industry, especially when it comes to the big 2 (Marvel & DC). So here is a list of my peeves in regards to comics from Marvel & DC:

- Enough with the crossover characters. One character has 1 solo title and 1 team title:

I’m getting sick of these comics over exploiting their characters. ‘Wolverine’ for example has the following ‘solo’ titles: Wolverine, Savage Wolverine, Wolverine Max and Wolverine & The X-Men. Then he is a member of The Avengers, X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, All-New X-Men. I understand that they have their top tier characters that prove to bring in money, but enough is enough.



- Allow creators to bring in their own characters and take them with them if they choose to leave:

Problem with Marvel & DC is they own characters that their creators create for the company, unless they do have some deal in place, which does not happen too often. So that is why we see the same old villains and heroes guest starring over and over again and very little ‘new’ characters or concepts making their way into the books. Which is why you see more creators going to Image Comics with their creator owned properties. Allow these people to make their own characters and if they leave they can take them with them or sell them to the company. Why not? The stories that were told during their tenure with the company would stay with the company, even if some of the characters do not. Give them more creator control and we would see more creativity. Makes sense no?



- Enough with ‘BIG EVENTS’ for a while!

I’m really getting sick of ‘big events’ from the big 2 every year, sometimes twice a year. They need to take a break for at least 3 year before attempting another company wide crossover event. I know I am getting burnt out (AVX, Zero Issues, Villain’s month, Battle of the Atom, Infinity, Trinity War, etc, etc, etc). We the readers need a break!



- More variety in the ‘Team’ books’…

Avengers, New Avengers, Uncanny Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Young Avengers, Avengers Assemble, Avengers AI. These are some of Marvels ‘team books’. Now here is that same list with what the title should be called: Avengers (Avengers), New Avengers (The Illuminati), Uncanny Avengers (West Coast Avengers), Mighty Avengers (Heroes for Hire), Young Avengers (New Warriors), Avengers Assemble (Force Works), Avengers AI (Artificial Intelligence), Avengers Arena (Arcades Arena). Now I know the ‘Avengers’ name brand is hot now considering the success of the 2012 film, but why not try some other team names and maybe they too could be spun off into a successful film one day?



I have more peeves when it comes to Marvel and DC, but I think this is enough for now.

The Random Nerdness Blog is a proud member of 'The League Of Extraordinary Bloggers'. Go to www.coolandcollected.com

to get all the addresses of the other League blog members. These blogs are also part of the league, please check out their blogs too:



www.goodwillhunting4geeks.blogspot.com



www.infinitehollywood.com



The Cavalcade Of Awesome at: http://blog.paxholley.net/





Also be sure to check out the 'Random Nerdness Podcast'!! Available to stream at www.randomnerdness.podbean.com

and download from iTunes.



Chris is also a Co-Host of the weekly 'Geek Fallout' podcast. Give that podcast a listen at www.geekfallout.podbean.com , download from iTunes and available on Stitcher!



See you in the future!!

GEEK FALLOUT EP 34: ‘NEW’ CREW MATES

GEEK FALLOUT EP 34: ‘NEW’ CREW MATES

September 19th, 2013

Chris & Jeff are joined this week by their new regular Co-Hosts, formally from the 'Random Nerdness' podcast: Sebastion & Brianna Rydvall.

This Episode includes:

- Segment 1: Beer Goggles: Fall TV Preview Discussion

- Segment 2: Headlines: 'Better Call Saul', The Walking Dead Spin-off??

- Segment 3: Top 5 Animated Dogs

- Segment 4: Random Rant: Has the TV series ‘Sons Of Anarchy’ gone too far?

Geek Fallout is a proud member of The Atomic Geeks Podcast Network

Welcome to the final frontier!!

Breaking Bad "Ozymandias": WTF!!! (Spoilers)

Well it’s been almost 17 hours since I watched last night’s episode of ‘Breaking Bad’ and I am still shell shocked. What an incredible hour of television, even if it made me both sad and mad. Bryan Cranston better win another Emmy this year, as well as Dean Norris ‘Hank’ and Aaron Paul ‘Jesse’. Going into last night’s episode I figured Gomez would die but I held out hope that Hank would make it, but at least he died a hero. 2 more episodes to go and I have a few predictions:

- Walt will have a change of heart and save Jesse from the Nazi’s.

- Jesse is going to kill Todd. Brutally would be preferable.

- Walt is going to poison Lydia.

- Walt is going to die, either in a ‘Scarface’ shoot-out or cancer. Or maybe Jesse will kill him and put him out of his misery.





"Ozymandias"



I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:

And on the pedestal these words appear:

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

"Ozymandias" is a poem written by Percy Shelley about the downfall of kings -- how all people in power will eventually lose that power.

Geek Fallout Episode 33: Back To School

GEEK FALLOUT EP 33

September 12th, 2013

This week Jeff and Chris run solo with the show.  They talk about casting news, comic books and Star Wars.  There is a special interview this week with Miles Holmes, the creator of Road/Kill (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1936639747/road-kill-ultimate-car-combat-tabletop-strategy-ga?ref=live)

Top 5 goes back to school.

Geek Fallout is a member of the Atomic Geeks podcasting network

Welcome to Helen IV!

Geek Fallout Ep 32: Jeeg!!!

Geek Fallout

GEEK FALLOUT EP 32

September 5th, 2013

This week Chris and Jeff are joined by the infamous Jeeg from the Nerd Lunch Podcast.  The guys talk a fair bit of new casting news, Star wars talk, and a little bit of comics.  Our top 5 this week is Muppets or Puppets from Pop Culture.

Geek Fallout will be merging with Random Nerdness in a couple weeks for a new and better podcast.

Geek Fallout is a part of the Atomic Geeks podcasting network.

Welcome to the wasteland!