So the Doctor will be immortal... or not.
I don't want to spoil anything, but if you're a Doctor Who fan, you might want to hunt up the two-part episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures entitled, "The Death of the Doctor." Though targeted at a younger audience (and the "life lessons" are layered on a tad thick), the story has (possible) implications for the Doctor's regeneration mechanics (though it could have just been a throw-away line): The Doctor claims he regenerate 507 times . We also got to see another old companion, Jo Grant (who's looking a bit like Carol Channing these days). Then there were those muppet-like aliens who look like cartoon vultures. They're intergalactic undertakers, you see, so... yeah, vultures. If nothing else, you do discover the fate of most of the Doctor's "classic" companions. If her description of Ian and Barbara (the companions from the first series back in 1963) is accurate, I think they must appear in a future episode of Torchwood.
Sticking with time travel for a moment, this YouTube video is making the rounds, purporting (perhaps jokingly) of showing another "time traveler" spotted out of their year of origin. Fast forward to about 1:30 for a shorter explanation and reveal. One offered possibility for what's seen is a 1920's hearing aid. Still, it's fun to ponder. It also makes me think that a group of people could have enormous fun "futurebombing" videos. If you're ever in the background of a video shoot, have some off-the-wall object or do some activity that you think might someday be seen as a sign you're from the future. You might have to cobble together something with LEDs, make a guess as to what cell phones might look like, appear to be talking to a friend via cerebral implants, or whatever. Get it right and you could be a YouTube (or its future equivalent) celebrity for having journeyed to the past to observe an historical event. Do too good a job, and you might even get a visit from the Time Cops, so keep a camera handy for the rest of us.
I think we need to pick a genre of movie for Uwe Boll to direct where he can do the least amount of damage. I'm leaning towards video games being his mainstay, as those are still largely expected to disappoint no matter who makes them. His latest is an original film about a fat horror-oriented superheroine titled Blubberella. Now, I'll be the first one to say that it'd be refreshing to see some movie heroes that weren't completely ripped, though the only one that leaps to mind is "Chronic" as portrayed by Kevin Smith, at least in comic-book form. Others could include various gangsters, bounty hunters, or sidekicks, but they're rarely ever the focus unless it's in an ironic sense. I figure that since this is Uwe Boll we're talking about, I suspect the best we can hope for is something that might remind us of "Divine," the character actor who starred in several movies by John Waters (note: I'm not saying the actress involved is only fit for such a role, I'm saying this would seem to be the way Boll will direct it).
In other movie bits, Star Trek 2 won't have Khan, but supposedly will feature another classic character with godlike powers. Chief suspects are apparently Trelane and Gary Mitchell. I wouldn't rule out Charlie X, however, seeing as having a super-powered teenager might somehow be construed to appeal to that every-popular younger demographic. If that happens, I'd lay even odds that the character would be re-cast as female, to tap into the "young girls are creepy" trend in current cinema (and to their credit, they can be creepy, and I think they know it). The could bring in Apollo, though that might be too close to how Marvel is handling Thor, and that could (I'm so sorry) steal Star Trek's thunder (so very, very sorry). Though when I think about it, godlike powers were fairly common in the Star Trek original series, rivaling alternate versions of Earth for galactic supremacy at times. Still, I'd love to see Harry Mudd as portrayed by Stephen Fry or maybe Bill Bailey (who's a huge sci-fi nerd in his own right).
Monday was this household's wedding anniversary, and we celebrated by Cristi going back to work the day after (albeit with a cane). Her school and parents were awesome, helping us out any way they could so that we could mitigate the loss of pay and my eroding sanity as I tried to keep the house from being mistaken for a refuse heap (I don't think I entirely succeeded). We're still not completely out of the woods as her doc has prescribed some physical therapy, which we're told could make the pain worse (...yay...), but at least she's able to drive and doesn't describe walking in terms that sound straight out of Dante's Inferno.
So while I return to daddy-daycare mode (with fits of attempted cartoonery), here's some stuff I was able to scare up in between making sure everyone was as comfortable as possible:
- If you still haven't carved up some produce for your front porch, here's a roundup of the geekier ideas for slicing up your pumpkin.
- It's been a while since my last "Final Fantasy," but this RPG flowchart seems disturbingly accurate.
- Here's an appropriately Halloween-y game: Haunt the House. It seems rather cutesy, but the more people you scare away from the house, the more effective your haunts get. You can also be too effective and the people might do something fatally stupid, and you have to live with their ghosts as well.
- Ah, the good old days (of silent film) when Hollywood rejected movies for the reasons they accept them today. :)
- Sticking with vintage film, I want this as a print on my wall (a warning: if you go looking at other entries in that LJ, some are NSFW, but this one's kosher).
- There are a lot of Richard Grayson videos on YouTube where he does incredible stuff with music, like turning the Muppet Show theme into a Bach-style fugue in no time at all.
- Paul, the World Cup predicting "psychic" octopus has passed away. You really do want to go out when you're at the top of your game, I think.
- You know that scene in "Wrath of Khan" where Spock is talking to Kirk about the needs of the many? He may have just been quoting the Texas supreme court. I think we've got a time loop, here...
- Another movie prequel is in the works. Here's the trailer for a film about what happened before 'The Birds.'
- We close with another Halloween-themed game, Rolling Fall. Slice chains to swing and/or release wrecking balls in order to crush every zombie you're presented with.