Wubba-lubba-dub-dub!

     What do you get if you combine the dimensional travel of Sliders, the weird science of Dr. Who, and the flippant sci-fi humor of Futurama? You get the infamous Rick And Morty.
     My girlfriend's son introduced me to this. But being 14 (13 at the time), he's too young for it. It's crazy and so crass, one of the more famous guest stars is a chorizo-headed dwarf named Mr. Poopybutthole. Yes, I said it. Ooh-whee, I said it.
     I like how the parents, Jerry and Beth, don't have the best relationship, but they are willing to stick it out. It's realistic. The kids, Morty and Summer, fight. Rick, while entertaining, is in no way a role-model, but his antics are entertaining.
     I also like how they take real scientific concepts and futurists' conjectures and use them as plot-devices. Parallel universes, 4th level Kardashev technology, electronic consciousness transfer, etc.
     So far, they've only made three seasons, but are signed on with Adult Swim for more. They go on a long hiatus between seasons, though. In the words of our chorizo-headed dwarf, "Maybe when you see me again, I might have a great big long Santa Claus beard, ooh-whee!" Let's hope that isn't true.

The Picard Show

     It's been well over a year since I've written in this blog. With other projects going on, I've been wanting to write more about movies and TV.
     So, what could bring me back? Nothing other than great geek news! Sir Patrick Stewart is coming back to TV as Jean-Luc Picard!

     As far as what Picard's role is, there is much speculation. Some see him as retiring in the family vineyards in LeBarre, France. Others wonder if he will enter politics and become president of the United Federation of Planets.
     I'm hoping to see Admiral Picard.
While commanding the Enterprise, the flagship of the Federation, he accomplished much.
     While being an admiral, he has the opportunity to have down time at the desk. But, if things get crazy, he can lead a small fleet. If he can do so much with just one ship, imagine what he can do with many.

     As a side note, it would also be fun to watch familiar characters make cameos. The few off-hand I could mention are Admiral Janeway, Captain Chakotay, Captain Riker, and Q (and family).

     I know what I want to see as far as Picard goes. But what about the political climate 20 years after the Dominion War? At this point, it would be the year 2395. Both canon and non-canon, the possibilities are exciting.
     The Dominion War would further solidify the Federation-Klingon alliance. I could see Chancellor Martok as a good ally to Admiral Picard if things go awry.
     The Dominion War would also have left the Cardassian Union extremely unstable. However, they would likely become a new ally with the Federation and the Klingon Empire.
     It is established in the Abrams film Star Trek that Romulus was destroyed when it's star went supernova. It doesn't logically follow that the whole empire would fall, just because the capital city burned. But the destruction of the home star would definitely have an impact on the society and government, making the Romulans as unstable as the Cardassians. This could possibly solidify the uneasy working relationship forged in the Dominion War, as well as the fragile peace that Picard attempted to create in Nemesis.
     Honestly, there is only one non-canon storyline I would love to see made canon. There is a book series called the Typhon Pact. It establishes that there was a Borg invasion in 2381. After which, there is a pact among six forces - the Breen Confederacy, the Holy Order of Kinshaya, Tzenkethi Coalition, Gorn Hegemony, Tholian Assembly, and the Romulan Star Empire. That would rule out the Romulans aligning themselves with the Federation, though.
     On the other side, the Federation, the Klingons, the Cardassians, and the Ferengi sign a treaty, forming the Khitomer Accords Alliance. The two power blocs end up in a cold war.
     Maybe a cold war environment would be a good setting for a mature Admiral Picard?

TMNT in an alternate reality.

     Sometimes I like to laugh to myself and come up with revamped ideas of shows and movies that are already out there. And I like to think to myself "Maybe this is what was created in a parallel universe." So, with that in mind, I'll do a series in this blog that covers whatever alternate universe ideas I come up with.

     Imagine a powerful radioactive mutagen seeps into a desert land, on the outskirts of a prairie. Maybe a truck turned over. A Chinese immigrant gets tangled with the mess after a car accident. His DNA combines with that of a rabbit. He mutates into an anthropomorphic rabbit, and he still retains his memories. He finds and cares for a handful of lizards that had fallen victim to the same overturned truck. Over time, they mutate into anthropomorphic lizards.
     A surrealist art aficionado, the rabbit-man names the lizards Salvador, Max, Rene, and Joan (pronounced "Juan"). He then teaches them the ways of Shaolin kung fu.

    They save the day in a midwestern big town; they are the Mutant Kung Fu Lizards. As I said, maybe Eastman and Laird came up with this in a parallel universe.

Portlandia

     A friend of mine introduced me to this show. It's pretty good, so I thought I'd talk about it. Portlandia was created by Fred Armisen (of SNL) and Sleater-Kinney band founder Carrie Brownstein (who my friend is in love with), along with Jonathon Kissel.
     It's a sketch comedy show and the segments usually feature two people played by Armisen and Brownstein. The characters are various citizens of Portland, Oregon.
     I think the setting was chosen because, apparently, Portland is where hipsters and liberal members of Generation X gravitate. Kind of like Indianapolis' Massachusetts Avenue combined with the side streets of Broad Ripple, spread across an entire city.
     In addition to the main two cast members and recurring side stars, different cast members of SNL come in and out. And what makes it really cool is the star-power of special guest stars, from Eddie Vedder to Penny Marshall. Jello Biafra even showed up for a brief skit.
     One of the people that shows up from time to time is Ashby. I admit she's my new weird-girl crush. She does this odd street-performer stuff. And every time she laughs, it's dubbed with a baby's laugh.
     So, if you like sketch comedy and weird people, take a look at it.

Long time no see!

     Holy shit! I just realized that I haven't written in this blog for two years! Talk about procrastination! Since then, with the help of an old FWB, I have become a Whovian - a fan of Dr. Who. I absolutely love it. In fact, I'm watching the 8th season of the revised series on Netflix while writing this. It's the first season with Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, and I think they picked a good one to play the role. I think he is the second Scottish actor to play him.
    There are a lot of talks among science fiction geeks regarding who should play the first black or female Doctor. I put out the idea that Marina Sirtis, the actress who played Counselor Deanna Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation, should play a female Doctor. Many others said that she's too well-established in the world of science fiction, that her pre-existing celebrity would offset the role. The celebrity factor was also mentioned when I thought of Idris Elba as the first black Doctor.
     I spent a few days watching the entire series of The IT Crowd. I was impressed with the character Maurice Moss' off-beat and weird geekiness. I think that the actor who played him, Richard Ayoade, should play the first black Doctor. Granted, he is biracial - being the son of a Nigerian and Norwegian parent each, but he'd still be a good choice in breaking that barrier.
     So, anyone who's reading this, what do you think? Most who would be reading this probably got the link from my Facebook feed, so inbox or tag me. If there's anyone who randomly found my TV/movie blog from another source, Tweet me @Toastercookies

Random fond memory.

     I was watching a make-up commercial that featured Kate Hudson. It make me think of one of my fondest memories of watching a movie with my mom. She always was a fan of Goldie Hawn, and she would claim that people told her that she looked like Goldie when she was a young adult.
     When "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days" came out on DVD, we watched it, and she had to take a break to go to the kitchen, so I paused it. She came back, and I thought I'd play a guessing game with her. I said "Look at this girl's face. Whose daughter is she?" It took her a while, and I ended up having to tell her. Her jaw dropped, and it took her a minute to study Kate's face.
     So, it's a random thought, but I just thought I'd say that I always think of that when I see Kate Hudson in a movie or commercial.

"Chernobyl Diaries"

     I just watched this movie last night. It was pretty decent. Although, it wasn't so much of a "found footage" movie, like I thought it was going to be. I was thinking it was going to be in the realm of "Cloverfield," with radioactive mutants that were nothing like what we've seen before. It ended up being more like a zombie movie.
     I remember when the Chernobyl disaster happened back in 1986, when an explosion leaked radioactive particles in the air. And while watching this movie, I kept thinking about this joke by Jimmy Carr: "It's been 25 years since Chernobyl; does it bother anyone that there are no superheroes yet?" Another quirky thing that I wondered about was that the tourists, when they got out of the van, looked around. At least one building had a striking, intact, mural of Vladimir Lenin, and then there was an abandoned amusment park. I couldn't figure out why they clammered to get a picture taken in front of the broken down ferris wheel, and not the big mural.
     But, all in all, if you want startling scares, it's an good one. My problem is that they didn't show much of the enemies. Maybe a brief glimpse. They left too much to the imagination. If I wanted that I'd read a novel of it. The reason we watch movies is to see the director's imagination. It's like "Let me see what crawled out of the dark side of your mind. Don't hint at it!" That's kind of my problem with a lot of modern horror movies. They're supposed to get in your face with the scary things, not drop clues and give us glimpses that more often confuse us than scare us.