Tales of Love and Woe

OK, so more like once a month.

As many know, last year saw the death of my xbox 360.  It received an error due to the fan or heat sink or something.  It got repaired, but only managed to survive another 2 months.  Well, that was really just the start of it.  First the 360 went, and then my son’s TV and then, last month, my daughter busted the top screen of her DS.  Pokemon is truly a violent game.  Luckily kijiji was there to locate inexpensive replacements for all items.  Just need to find a new stand for Vince’s TV.

Now for the love.  While we were renting a TV from Easyhome, we decided it would probably be better just to use their Financial part, borrow the money and buy a TV.  Then we would pay it back with less interest and less time.  Well, less time really came about when the government fixed an error on their part and provided us with back CCTB payments.  We paid it off and were happy.  Though it’s only a 32” Toshiba from Future Shop, I LOVE my TV.  Also, this summer, we got an air conditioner – words cannot describe how great THAT thing has been this year.  Also managed to grab a WD 1 TB external hard drive for a decent price recently.  Freed up some space on the computer and it runs so much better.  Note: when shopping for external drives, Always read reviews.  I was going to get a Seagate 2 TB one, but the reviews were horrendous.

Next, to change the topic.

The Drunk and on Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour aired its final episodes of season 1 last night.  It really is too bad there were only 6 episodes.  I was really getting into it.  Sure, the first couple episodes were confusing, but after eps 3 and 4, it started to make sense.  I went back and watched the first two again afterwards, and it’s all clear now.  Also, if you go to www.drunkandondrugs.com you can take part in a “quest” to see videos of what goes on between the episodes (when they’re affected by the blue stuff).  It adds a whole other level to the show I find. I can’t wait for this show to be released on dvd and blu ray.  The show stars Mike Smith, Rob Wells and John Paul Tremblay.

Ch.. ch.. ch.. changes

As you may have noticed, if you managed to find your way here and have been previously visiting, the blog has changed a bit.  Ok, more like an overhaul.  New Title, new look, and even a new url.

I was trying to go for something different, memorable, and something that relates in some way to me. The other morning the title just popped into my head.  Geeks N’ Pudding.  Now the geeks part is understandable, but why “Pudding”?  I honestly don’t know. I mean sure, I love pudding.  Who doesn’t?  I think I decided to use it because it seems to random.  Now, why the N’ ? Well, put it this way – I was trying to think of a last word that started with an “R” (yeah, so the blog could be referred to as “G N’ R”), and I liked the way the N was, so I left it.

Now will anything change content wise?  Hell yes.  First and foremost… there’s going to actually BE content.  I suppose that really is the only change.  More randomness to come later.

‘Till next time, here’s a video to entertain you.

ReBoot: A ReView

I come from the Net – through systems, people and cities to this place: Mainframe. That one line launched a breakthrough television series in 1994. ReBoot is marked in history as the first completely CGI television program and, in many user’s opinions, one of Canada’s greatest pieces of television programming. Finally, the series has been released to DVD in a complete collection and I have recently just finished watching it. So, is ReBoot: The Definitive Mainframe Edition best viewed to Nostalgia-tinted glasses, or does this DVD collection do everything to Mend and Defend?

The Show:

I won’t lie. I was giddy as soon as the first episodes started up. Remembering back to my youth when I first caught it on TV. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about.

ReBoot takes place in the computer system, Mainframe, and focuses mainly on Bob, a guardian from the Net, Dot, a sprite who operates a diner as well as a number of other businesses, and Enzo, Dot’s younger brother. The system, however, does have to deal with a couple viruses known as Megabyte and Hexadecimal. Not only do the sprites and binomes of Mainframe need to handle those two, but every now and then the user (a force outside of the computer world) loads a game which could nullify and delete entire sectors of the system should the user win. And I haven’t even mentioned the slew of other characters we meet over the course of the series.

Have I lost you yet?

Anyway, the first season and a half are pretty episodic and stand-alone. There are some little details here and there that carry over but each episode pretty much ties everything up by the end.

Midway through Season 2, overall arcs are introduced. This begins when AndrAIa, an AI game sprite, downloads her program onto Enzo’s icon so that she can exist outside the game. After this, a war between a creature from the web and Mainframe breaks out. Megabyte betrays the alliance with Bob (gee, didn’t see that coming) and launches him into the Web, leaving young Enzo as the closest thing to a guardian the system has.

In Season 3, Enzo and AndrAIa, about to lose a game, change their icons to and from game-sprite mode so that they can use the games to hop from one system to another, thus compiling (growing up) faster than the outside world. They eventually decide to search the web for Bob so they can return home. Though when they do, it’s pretty bad. Of course, everything eventually works out and there’s a musical number in the last Season 3 episode that recaps the entire season in case you are too lazy to watch the whole thing. However, there were hints throughout the season of a looming threat called Daemon.

Season 4 combines the two movies that was made (albeit years later) which involve the battle with Daemon and then the appearance of a second (copy? original?) Bob in Mainframe. Unfortunately, the series ends on a cliffhanger. It is said that Season 4 was supposed to be three movies (broken into 12 episodes) and a final, musical episode. Sadly, these were never produced. Though an online comic does exist that continues the story.

Packaging

All 47 episodes are collected on 8 DVDs with a bonus disk which contains the special features. As for how it is all packaged… how to explain this? Ok. The DVDs are grouped up as follows:

Seasons 1&2 / Seasons 3&4.

Each volume has a slip case which holds 2 slim cases (each slim case holds 2 DVDs)

The two volumes as well as the 9^th disk (in its own slim case) as well as a 20-page booklet containing episodes synopses and artwork, are housed in a larger slip case.

While it can be tedious to pull out the specific disk you want to play, this is essentially a box containing the two volumes that were previously sold separately, plus extras. So I can see why they did it. Still, better that those fold out, 6-disk television series (I’m looking at you, He-Man, Buffy….)

Video

Seasons 1-3 are presented in their original 4:3 ratio with Season 4 being in widescreen. The transfers are beautiful and even season 1 (1994) looks good. Sure the animation may seem a little dated at times, but it still looks better than most traditional animation of that era. Watch an episode of the Simpsons from 1994 and you’ll see what I mean.

The colours are bright. The characters, though a little stiff at first, are well animated. But it’s the world that really steals the show. Mainframe STILL looks great and seems to be a character itself. The system lives, grows, thrives (sometimes gets pieces deleted).

Audio

The sound effects, the voice work, the ambiance and the music are all here, still intact from the original productions. The audio is extremely clear and the voice actors do an amazing job (for the most part). The only things I noticed were a few audio hiccups in about 3 episodes, but these are so rare and minute that they don’t really cause any problem. From what I’ve read about this, these are audio glitches on the master recordings.

Special Features

I feel that this is where the package lacks. There are a total of three bonus features in this set (not including specific episode commentaries).

- Fast Forward: The Making of ReBoot – an episode-long special that I’ve seen aired on television once or twice where Megabyte “hosts” a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the production crew and the process they go through to make the show. This was made during the Season1/Season 2 time frame.

- A Look Back with Co-Creator Gavin Blair – an interview where Gavin regales what it was like to work on the show and offers a couple anecdotes. Again, not very long but still interesting to watch.

- Original Animated Character Models – This bonus begins with a title card telling us that the audio does cut in-and-out and that there’s nothing wrong with our televisions. It’s amusing to take a look at some of the original character models as well as the studio promo reels of a couple seasons and characters. Compared to the final product, it’s quite a leap.

Nowhere to be found is anything on the ReBoot Rides, any other animation from Mainframe Entertainment (though that may be due to legal reasons or whatever). For a show this breakthrough, I was really expecting more in terms of special features.

In conclusion, I love ReBoot. I did then and I still do now. Does the show hold up over the years? Hell yes. Would I like to see ReBoot come back? That would be alphanumeric. Although, with Tony Jay’s passing a few years ago, finding the right voice actor for Megabyte will be required.

Whether you enjoyed the show when it first aired, or if you are newly being introduced to the series, or if you are just a fan of animation, or if you want to show it to your kids…. I could go on with a list of reasons to get this and they would all be valid.

Stay Frosty!

Video: 10/10

Audio: 9.5/10

Features: 6/10

Overall: 9.5 (Overall score is NOT an average)

Woah! What’s this?

Heh.  Almost a year since my last post.  Surprisingly, very little has happened to me since then.  I mean, I’ve been working and we finally set a date for the wedding but, other than those… nothing of importance.

Having a blog doesn’t really work when one really has nothing to say.

Well, let’s see… regarding some of the stuff I posted in the last entry… Futurama continues with its current season, Hot in Cleveland became stupid quickly, The Gates has been canceled and The Expendables was pretty ‘meh.’  I mean, it would have been awesome in the 80’s but nowadays, I feel it just didn’t hold up. 

There’s been a ton of movies out in theatres, but I can’t recall the last one I saw.  Perhaps it was Saw 3D, I really don’t remember.  Tara and I will be going to see Transformers later this week.  Not expecting much out of it, but then again, it’s in no way a thought provoking, edge of your seat film.  The series is just a mindless popcorn flick series.  From what I hear it’s better than the 2nd one (not a difficult task to achieve). It’s always best to go into these kinds of movies with realistic (low) expectations. 

I was going to do up a review for Alice: Madness Returns for the 360. But I can sum it up thusly: It’s a fun platformer with a twisted story and a gothic art style that feels like Tim Burton should have looked at the original to make a good version of Alice in Wonderland.  If you’ve played the original, you’ll enjoy this one.  Plus, the game comes with a code to download American McGee’s Alice as well.  Though that hasn’t aged too well especially compared to the sequel.  A:MR has a few graphical glitches but there’s nothing game-breaking in there that would prevent a fun experience.

I also recently acquired ReBoot: The Definitive Mainframe Edition (review coming soon… I promise) and barely channel surfed or played any games since I got it.

I’m going to make it a point to enter something into this at least once a week, even if it’s nothing important. 

My bologna says, “hello.”

After a number of delays I finally started working again.  With my paycheck as well as Tara’s we should be all caught up on bills by the end of the month (mid August at the latest).

And then… our first car.  If all goes well it appears we might even be able to attend FanExpo next year.  This year there are so many great guests: William Shatner, Stan Lee, Adam West, Burt Ward, Summer Glau (mmmm), Felicia Day (also mmm), Heather Langenkamp, as well as Victor and Scott from Reviews on the Run.  Many others as well, but those would be the ones I have the most interest in.  Unfortunately, this year is completely a no-go for us :(

Today, we finally had rain.  After the last week of humid, sticky weather it was such a welcome, even if it DIDF only last about an hour in total.

What else is new?  Futurama has returned!!  It may not be as great as the original episodes, but then again, nothing ever is (see: Simpsons, Family Guy), except South Park – this season was actually pretty good.  I’ve also started watching “The Gates.”  A family (father is the new police chief) moves into a high class, secured suburb neighbourhood.  However, his neighbours are actually Vampires, Werewolves, witches, succubi, etc.  Two episodes in and I was hooked. 

There is another new show on that I really shouldn’t like but sorta do.  “Hot in Cleveland” lol.  It basically has the same feel as The Golden Girls (especially with Betty White in it) but stars Valerie Bertonelli, the woman who played Nina on “Just Shoot Me” and Daphne from “Frasier.”  The first episode was a little hard to watch (the expositional plane scene was terrible) but it eventually got better.  Would I pay for the season 1 dvd?  no, but it’s good to watch when there’s nothing else on.

Speaking of Season 1 dvds, I recently won a trivia contest on twitter and will be getting the first season of “Hiccups” when it’s released.  Hiccups stars Nancy Robertson and Brent Butt (previously from Corner Gas) as a children’s author and her life coach, respectively.  In a world with so much original Canadian programming (HA!) this has to be one of my faves.  I actually met Brent once when I worked at Tim Horton’s, though I didn’t realize it until after I gave him his coffee.

Movies:  Apparently, The Last Airbender is horrible.  Download, it is then.  Tara wants to see Sorceror’s Apprentice – yeah that looks kinda fun.  But the big movie I can’t wait to see is The Expendables.  Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and appearances from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.  This movie couldn’t be any more manlier or classic action if they added Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson.  Plus, Good ol’ Charisma Carpenter is there too (another mmmm).  Apparently Van Damme would have been in it, but declined as his character had “no substance.”  This coming from the guy who played Guile in Street Fighter.

Wait a minute, with Stallone and Lundgren, will “I will break you” be said?  It has to be.

Well, this post has gone on long enough.  I’ll leave you with a movie trailer from the same shit heads that keep bringing us crap, and I’m NOT talking about Uwe Boll.

Never Thought This Would Happen

Since D&D 4th Edition came out, I’ve played only a handful of times.  Usually they are just “Encounter” games where you go into a dungeon and take on a few battles until the end.  Last night I was asked if I wanted to play today.  After some thought I realized, I’m bored of D&D.  At least the way I’ve played it recently.

I mean, sure, battles are fine, but when that’s the only thing you do in a game it just turns into a dice game like Yahtzee or Liar’s Dice, only not as fun.  I guess what I’m saying is that these encounter games are missing a vital part of RPGs…. the RP.

I like a story.  I like to portray my character as more than just a bunch of numbers on a sheet and a little plastic figure.  It’s the same way with video games and why I hardly ever play multiplayer – I like to experience the story.  I don’t mind a little deathmatch skirmish with a bunch of people using each other as target practice but, at the end of the day, instead of playing that for a few more hours, I’d rather return to find out who stole the Masterwork Hubcaps of Levitation or something.

I miss the epic storyline games that I used to play with my buddies years ago.  Sure there was lots of getting sidetracked and there was definitely a lot of inebriation, but it was fun.  Whether it was an Elven Necromancer, a being from a world of nightmares, or a pyromaniac dwarf, the characters and stories had substance.  Whereas in the encounter games, it doesn’t matter if your character is King of Kickassia or a shit scooper in Wussopotamia.

A Game Review

On June 8, Harmonix released a new title in its Rock Band series, Green Day: Rock Band.  This game joins the popular series preceded by Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and The Beatles:Rock Band and adds yet another 47 songs to the massive library (including DLC).

I decided to throw together a little review of it, since I’ve never done a video review before and it was the first new game I got in a while.