Is your head still reeling from last week’s negative webcomic review, Spwuggin’ friends?

Well, ol’ Marlink will take it easy on ya this week, with a bit of extremely cool news for all you literary and history geeks out there: after a century’s delay, Mark Twain’s 500,000+-word autobiography is due to hit the stores as a trilogy this year!

Seems Mr. Samuel Clemens didn’t want his autobio to be seen by the human race until one hundred years after his death. Luckily for all you Twain fans out there, the end of that century is 2010.

Why didn’t Twain want his autobiography published during his lifetime? Did he want to avoid offending people close to him? Did he fear personal persecution? Did he just want to ensure that he would be talked about even a century after a death? I guess we’ll finally be able to find out for certain later this year, when the mysterious massive tale is finally made public.

Like others have pointed out, the man sure knew how to make you want to buy his books!

Greetings, Cosby Kids!

It’s incredible whenever new advancements are made in science.  The little kid in me who grew up thinking we would be going to Mars and beyond, or have flying cars, or have perfected artificial intelligence always gets a little excited whenever I actually see something that was previously science fiction become science fact.

But at the same time, that little kid’s heart always dies a little inside when those same discoveries are made.  Maybe it’s because in the grand scheme of things even our biggest advancements still fall under the shadow of the reality that we still have a long way to go to achieve the things the child in me thought he would get to see in his lifetime.  For every successfully cloned sheep, dark matter discovery, or sub-atomic particle that travels backward in time, there’s still the realization that we have yet to travel outside our own solar system, effectively slow the aging process, or even cure the common cold.

But this week?  This week the Saturday morning cartoon-watching, cereal-eating, pajama-wearing me from yesteryear is looking on wide-eyed and in wonder – a Japanese/US research team has created a molecular computer that can handle complex computations like a computer, yet functions more like a real brain. It can even heal and repair itself when it has a problem.

Even more astounding is that the computer is only two molecules thick.

This is pretty mind-blowing stuff.  I mean, just around thirty years ago we were still in our computer infancy.  Atari was the big console of the time.  Arcades still existed to give gamers young and old a chance to play the latest creations (with ash trays!).  William Shatner was shilling for the Commodore Vic-20, the “wonder computer of the 1980s” while any system that was designed for heavy computations still took up quite a bit of room space and most likely involved reel-to-reel tape for data recording.

Yet, only thirty years later we’ve achieved something that by 1980s standards would still be a dream in the distance.  Only it’s not quite that distant.  It’s here.  Now.

Immediate images of Skynet rising to smite us all aside, this is one of those major steps forward in science that has me hopeful and excited for what’s to come in our immediate future, despite the fact that it sometimes seems like our society’s progress seems a little uneven at times.  Achievements like this help to remind me that though it sometimes seems like the fantastical science we see in our favorite fiction may not become a reality within our lifetimes, occasionally we get to see the extraordinary the very next day.  We may not have a colony on the moon yet or mastered teleportation, but right now we are one step closer to creating Data.

Let’s hope it isn’t Lore.

The Don blinded himself with science, then got the hiccups.

Greetings, Shadow Warriors!

There’s an old saying where I come from, and it goes something like this:

“If you can’t come up with a Spwug article for the week, just make something up.”

How anyone in my home town even knew there would ever be a web site called Spwug some day in the future is a riddle that we may never solve (radiation spill).  Be that as it may, today it just happens to be good advice.  I’m having a frazzleweek (not to be confused with a Fraggle Rock) this week, and it’s making it tough to come up with anything substantial to offer.  So instead, I once again break out the odds and ends that I have come across over the past couple of days, plop them all into a stew pot, add some seasonings, stir, and serve it to you with some blue milk, courtesy of the charred corpse of Aunt Beru.

What?  It’s not like the Lars family was going to be drinking it anymore.  It was just sitting there on the table.

Megaman 10 is out.  Rockman continues to cry at the injustice.

For those of us still clinging to the nostalgia of our 80s roots (and who really isn’t these days?) and were feeling a little like we got repeatedly crotch-punched by the last fanboy-pleasing offering, Capcom once again gives us the retro-NES-looking goodness of Megaman 10.  While the last installment offered Proto as DLC, this time he comes ready-to-play, with Bass being the DLC character this time around.  All of the graphic and gameplay charm of 9 returns, but this time you can save yourself a cranial bruising from beating your head against the wall – Megaman 10 includes an “easy mode”.  Meanwhile, the Japanese continue to laugh at us while they exist in their superior universe.

Final Fantasy XIII also came out this week.  World buckles at the contradiction.

I stopped playing this series a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away…), sometime after X or XI or XVIC or whatever that one was with the different characters (stupid Roman numerals).  I’ve read that there have been a few changes, one of which is that the battle system is set up similar to Advent Children.  I’ve heard mixed feedback.  A few of my friends seem to enjoy it, while a few others do not.  And still a few other others are still wondering how there are thirteen of them when it’s the “Final Fantasy” (and even more when you count the spin-offs).  I still maintain that three six is the best one Square has ever done, and they will never be able to top just how well that game is.

The new Tron Legacy trailer is online.

Some of you may be a wee bit too young to remember the movie that put CG animation on the map and laid the groundwork for what Spielberg, Cameron, and Pixar are doing today in film.  Tron didn’t pull in a very large box office when it opened back in 1982, but it has since gained a cult following – enough of one that Disney finally greenlit a sequel last year.  Jumping on the viral marketing bandwagon, Disney has kept the details scarce on this new movie, but has made discovering the details rather fun and exciting.  Most recently, people around the world had the opportunity to go on hide-and-seek missions to find an individual wearing a “Flynn Lives” t-shirt in several major cities around the globe.  The reward?  Exclusive swag, and the ability to unlock an online page that featured dates and locations for a “secret” showing of the new trailer for Tron Legacy.  For those who could stand to wait a few extra days, the trailer went online for everyone this week.  And it is badass.

Speaking of movie trailers…

I’ve got two words for you: “briefcase armor”:

One of these things is not like the other…

Word has it that John Krasinski has landed the role of Captain America for the new Marvel film.  You may know him from the American version of “The Office”.  The rest of you may know him as the guy completely wrong for the part.

And that concludes this broadcast day!  I know I said before that I would be making stuff up, but I decided not to… or, at least not entirely.  One of the things I mentioned above is not at all true (or is close to the truth but not true).  Can you figure out which one?  Ooohh!  Puzzles!  I’m guessing that this one won’t be enough of a challenge to keep you busy until next Thursday, will it?

Probably not.

There’s nothing special about The Don.  He’s just an ordinary program.

Greetings, Madballs!

Holy crap.

I’m sure those of you who own one of the “fat” PS3 systems (like me) became quite acquainted with the issue that occurred last Sunday on the right and straight on ‘til Monday.

In short, the non-slim PS3s all took a huge dump.

In a major snafu that most-assuredly gave Xbox 360 owners plenty of ammo in the “Which system is better?” war, a simple glitch with the internal clock ended up wreaking havoc for about twenty-four hours.  For some weird reason, the older PS3 models tried (unsuccessfully, I might add) to turn over from February 28^th to February 29^th, 2010 on Sunday night.  Of course, the system that only does everything (including ride the short bus) did not get the memo that 2010 is not, in fact, a leap year.  The side effect of that?  February still remains short-stacked against her fuller siblings (I’ve always thought of February as a woman – she sure flirts like one).

So, when that internal clock rolled over to the obviously illegal date, those “fat” PS3s immediately wet the bed, making online connection impossible.  Also affected?  Trophy data was either corrupted or non-existent and almost all PS3 games were completely non-playable.

Sony’s response was amusing, yet horrifying at the same time – “Stay off your PS3!”  Sounding like an septuagenarian who just confiscated your Frisbee (do people even play with Frisbees anymore?), the company that uses the same font for Playstation and the Spider-Man movies admitted that they were at a loss, but that the problem was bad enough to warrant treating your system like a red-headed step child (what a sad moniker – I happen to like gingers).

So, like the stalwart troopers that they are, Sony set their tech experts (who obviously have no concept of the Gregorian calendar or this wouldn’t have happened in the first place) to task to find and fix the problem.  Meanwhile, Xbox folks were laughing at our misfortunes right up to the moment when their 360s got their fifth or sixth “Red Ring of Death”, at which point they swore profusely and immediately throw themselves onto some jagged rocks.

At the same time, I was going through a steady decline as withdrawals started to kick in.  It wasn’t noticeable Sunday night, as the problem didn’t occur until after I had already signed off for the evening.  But by the time I got home from work Monday afternoon?  Well, let’s just say that I never realized just how much I use my PS3 until I found out the hard way that about two-thirds of my couch time in the living room requires the use of the third generation Playstation.  I couldn’t play any video games.  I couldn’t watch any movies.  Every time my instincts automatically queued up my arms to reach for the power button on my system I had to stop myself.  In the end, I was forced to “channel surf” – a past time that I’m pretty sure became obsolete right around the same time that Frisbees stopped being something cool that you did in parks and backyards.

Fortunately for me, the Winter Olympics were just over enough to return one of my 8 PM viewing staples to its proper time slot.  After watching the show I bought a Subway sandwich to keep on the air, “Chuck” returned the favor and kept me distracted long enough for Sony to figure out how time is actually kept track of in modern society.  By 9 PM I hesitantly fired up ol’ Bessie based on some positive rumblings I had read in one of the forums I frequent.  Sure enough, my sleek-black beauty was fine and dandy.  She was a little disoriented, still thinking that it was Sunday, February 28^th, but after a gentle correction I was able to play Fallout 3 with only my usual operational glitches and irritations.  All was now right in the world once again.

At least, until all game systems everywhere instantly self destruct while trying to reconcile December 21^st, 2012.

The Don survived the PS3 Blackout of February 29^th, 2010.  He didn’t even get a lousy T-shirt.

Did you ever feel it’s time to ramp up the intellectual content of this writer’s articles?

Yeah, me neither.

But there’s no denying that sometimes, sometimes, when you’re not otherwise paying attention, something involving thinky-meats will come up and smack you over the head, and you’ll say, “This is COOL!” Then you’ll look around quickly, afraid your middle-school science teacher is gloating somewhere nearby.

I’m pretty sure Mr. Jasper* is nowhere around, so I think it’s safe to share this article with you, if I hurry.

An archelogical dig in Turkey has recently turned up the oldest-known human-made structures–predating even the Great Pyramid by about 7,000 years.

This find appears to be raising new questions more quickly than it answers existing ones. Guesses can and are being made at the structures’ purpose, but so many ideas are being tossed back and forth, I couldn’t do that article justice here without just pasting the whole darn thing. And since I didn’t WRITE the whole darn thing, I won’t paste the whole darn thing. Instead, follow the link above to read the whole darn thing, and sit back as your perception of human history rewrites itself!

I’m almost as excited at this amazing find as I am about Christmas, birthdays, and the upcoming Zelda game. There’s no hope for me to ever become a normal person, is there?

*Middle-school science teacher identity invented to protect the guilty….Namely, me. I probably shouldn’t have slept through those archeology documentaries in class….**

**Oh, who am I kidding? I was such a science geek I was practically drooling during those things!

Greetings, Kandarian Demons!

As I am sure you are all already well aware, Fox has cancelled “Dollhouse”.  And with that, another Joss Whedon creation meets an unfair and premature demise.

It’s unfortunate, really.  Joss has proven time and again that he has some damn good skills when it comes to making stuff up and putting it out there for the masses.  “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel” were both extremely popular and well-written shows, each of which managed to last at least five seasons.  Then there’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog – a whimsical internet sensation crafted by Whedon during the WGA writers’ strike back in 2008.  It ended up winning multiple awards, including an emmy.

So, it’s obvious that Joss makes good product.  That being the case, why is it that his last two returns to the small widescreen have each met with failure?  Let’s look at what both shows have in common:

Fox… and Fox.

The first show Joss brought to the 20^th Century jag-offs was that ingenious little sci-fi/western show called “Firefly”.  What made that show work was not just Whedon’s typical mastery of character and dialogue, but also his ability to deftly handle combining two widely different genres into one entertaining show.

Sadly, Fox mishandled this one from the beginning.  First pre-empting it several times with their coverage of the World Series, “Firefly” was stuck on Friday nights – the place where shows go to die.  And to add insult to injury, Fox didn’t even show the episodes in order.  Skipping the two-hour pilot that would have introduced all of the characters, as well as get viewers properly acquainted with Joss’ new universe, the nutwork instead went with the second episode.  This caused a lot of viewers, including me, to scratch my head as I tried to figure out who everyone was and why things were the way they were.  Fox continued to show the episodes out of order until they finally made the decision to pull the plug, refusing to even show the last couple of episodes.  The salt – airing the full two-hour pilot after the cancellation was announced.  That’s showing them, Fox!

And now we have history practically repeating itself.  Once again, Joss Whedon has the plug pulled on a show that had the potential to be great.  Now, I know that he first season of “Dollhouse” wasn’t quite as brilliant as his previous bodies of work.  In fact, the first half of season one was kind of dull, with characters that were difficult to invest in.  Joss’ signature repartee was there, but it felt forced and ill-fitting with this cast of players.  Part of the problem stemmed from the fact that none of these characters seemed to embody that balance of dour and humor.  They were mostly dark.

The blame for this doesn’t rest solely on Whedon’s shoulders, if it lies with him at all.  Once again, the Fawkes network stepped in and did their usual meddling.  First, they made Joss rewrite and/or reshoot several episodes.  Joss has admitted in interviews that the first half of season one was different than what he wanted.  This would explain why the second half seemed to improve.  Then the “Dollhouse” was put where the last Whedonshow died a miserable death – on Friday nights.  Ratings remained abysmal even when the better half of the show aired.

But then, something incredible happened.  Despite bad ratings, “Dollhouse” was renewed for a second season.  Could it be that Fox was finally realizing how badly it kept screwing over the guy who created Captain Tightpants?

Nope.  Sorry.  Just a slight ray of hope only to be extinguished as the network that didn’t understand “Herman’s Head” put “Dollhouse right back on Friday nights.  From there, things continued to go downhill for the show, until Fox made it official a few weeks ago that they were canceling it.  Oh, I know – the official announcement was only made last week.  But Fox made it clear by their actions first – through TV spots announcing that new episodes would not be airing until December, filling their slot with repeats of “House”.  And further, they made it known that they would burn off the rest of the episodes in December.  That’s pretty much preparing the rope for the gallows.

So, here we are… another Joss Whedon show has been canceled.  It’s unfortunate, as the second season was really starting to amp things up.  I stuck with the show through the muck and mire and found myself really starting to like it by the time I got to the most recent new episode.  But once again, Whedon and his fans find themselves back to the drawing board.  As we wait to see what genius he can pull of next and where it might turn up, Joss bides his time until he can put something new out there for everyone to enjoy.  Question is, where will it turn up?

I think he should go back to the web.  His craft seems to work better there.  His fans have unlimited access to his work, and his art seems to thrive in that environment.  There is money and success to be had there if you know how to approach it correctly, and I think Joss has already proven that he knows how to do that.

He certainly seems to have a better grasp on it than Fox.

The Don needs his handler.

… I’m gonna have to punk out on this week’s “Office” and give you a “Don Says…” instead.  It’s just as good as an “Office”… really it is.

Okay, it’s almost as valuable as a “Meeting”, at least.  Listen, you can’t use any of these as legal tender (or even chicken tenders) anyway, so what’s the big deal?

Anyhoo, the reason I committed such a heinous act and punked out on a full “Office” article this week is because Nekocon is this weekend.  As we all know, Nekocon is that magical place where dreams come true and wine flows from the highest mountaintops in cascading waterfalls.  It’s where River Phoenix is still alive and continually successful in film and Tom Green didn’t survive putting his bum on a rhino.

Okay, it’s really an anime convention in my backyard of Hampton, Virginia.

But, the best news is that 2wcOnline, that awesome website that is the home of that awesome web comic called The Draconia Chronicles that I’m the writer for – you know, the one that has links to it on the right side of this here Spwug site?  Do you even know where you are right now?  Maybe you should lay down…

Lost my thought of trains…

Oh yeah – 2wcOnline will be there as web comic guests again this weekend!  My partner-in-crime Danny Valentini and I will be there all weekend pimping out our new Draconia Chronicles 2010 Calendar, as well as the rest of our stuff.  We will also be heading up several panels throughout the weekend.  Grab your peepers and check out the sched:2wcOnline

2wcOnline presents The Draconia Chronicles:   SAT 10a – 11a  in Panel 3

2wcOnline State of Webcomics:   SAT 2p – 3p in  Panel 3

2wcOnline Character Creation and Development:   SUN 1p – 2p in  Panel 3

So, if any of you happen to be going to Neko and want to come by and pay your resident Spwugnerian as well as both 2wcOnline Chuckleheads, feel free!  And next week, I will return to my regular programming with a rundown of the con.

I’m The Don and I approve this massage.

Andrew Dobson, skilled artist and Nintendo fan of old, gives his take on Project Natal and the Sony Wand in “Danny and Spot” (I’m showing you two comics that were uploaded together, but it’s the second comic that’s relevant here.) Check out his amazing work at the link above!

Fall has, uh, fallen upon us here at the Casa de Marlink, according to the bright red tree outside our door. Halloween rushed in and blew out with the speed and force of six three-year-olds on a sugar high, leaving us with just the leftovers of candy for trick-or-treaters, decorations to be taken down*, and some form of minor plague that some generous soul donated to the big Halloween party.

*Decorations were left up into November to ensure we did not incur the wrath of Sam by taking them down too early.

While I soothe my aching head and raw throat with honeyed ginseng tea, let’s get down to brass tacks. Or thumbtacks. Who even uses brass tacks anymore?

You might notice this isn’t the monthly webcomic review I’ve normally been doing the first Tuesday of the month, although a comic on the Web still makes a feature here. I’m switching up the way things are done, but since how a writer works is only of interest to the writer, I’ll spare you the details and get to the topic at hand. Well, topics. I’m gonna get random and complain about a few things here. This post was inspired by the Dobson comics you see here and the gripes they reminded me of.

This isn’t NEW-news; we’ve all heard that the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are keen on adding motion controls to their systems. The response from the gaming community so far has largely been a big yawning “Meh.” My, the enthusiasm of disapproval sure has fallen since Nintendo announced the Wii Remote a few years back! (Read the “2006″ panel of the above comic to see the reaction I got a few years ago, when I expressed delight at the proposed Nintendo motion controls that have since come to rule the world.)

But, even though I posted a comic here that’s mocking the Wiimote-mockers, I’m not going to tread…too much…into that old territory of how it’s “cool” to hate the big N because they always seem to come out on top (funny, I would think that would be a reason to LIKE them. We’re supposed to like winners who provide quality products for the consumer, right? Or maybe I’m the only one who still values substance over style. Wait. Said I wasn’t gonna go there. I also said I’d call you after last night. Get used to disappointment, kids.) No, my problem with the gamer-dubbed “copycat” motion technology announced by Sony and Microsoft isn’t relevant to the “copycat” part.

We don’t have a 360 in this house, due to there being nothing we wanted to play on it. We do have a PS3, which I pretty much only use as a DVD/Blu-Ray player. I spend basically all of my gaming time on the PC, the Wii, or my older Nintendo systems (and much of my PC gaming is playing Nintendo ROM’s when I’m not playing Oblivion). It’s not that I’m just obsessed with everything Nintendo does to the point that I won’t touch the competition. It’s that I’m obsessed with Nintendo BECAUSE they produce the games I actually like to play and replay, an area in which both Sony and Microsoft have been severely lacking for me. Let’s have another set of Dobson comics to illustrate:

Before anyone says anything, A Boy and His Blob falls under the “third-party” category, not the “new intellectual property” one.

Yeah, I’m not a big first-person shooter fan, nor am I diggin’ the dull “realistic” brown graphics that make backgrounds and items largely indistinguishable and have become the gaming norm. Don’t think I’m ignoring that Nintendo has been known to fall into this trap too (Twilight Princess, why you gotta hurt me so bad with your muted colours? Can’t we go back to the vibrant pallets of your NES and SNES glory days when I could tell one object from another? Even your N64 forays were more vivid!) And many of the PS3 FPS offerings are pretty much all the same thing, graphics-/gameplay-wise. Even the rare stand-out FPS games like Call of Duty: World at War and Battlefield: Bad Company tend to look alike…and play alike in a bad way, which I’ll get into and ties into the motion-control thing….

I can’t comment on the 360’s proposed motion controls beyond quoting a few gamer responses of “Way to do what Nintendo already did!” since I’ve never played a 360, but I’ve got a big problem with Sony’s take. Which is, how can PS3 developers be looking at new types of controls when the ones they’ve been working with for years are still so loose and unresponsive?

There aren’t that many PS3 games I’ve been excited for and actually played. There was Metal Gear Solid 4 (more brown futuristic FPS with a scruffy hero!), Eden, LittleBigPlanet, and the minigame LocoRoco Cocoreccho!, and that’s pretty much it. And I probably would have liked those games a whole lot more, had the controls actually freakin’ worked.

The battle against Vamp in MGS4, for example, took about five times as long as it should have because the CQC maneuver to put someone in a lock-hold only works when it wants to. And let’s not forget the other times during the game that Snake wouldn’t grab what he was supposed to or go where he was told. (Cranky old man.)

In Eden, the controls work like you’re playing underwater with slow response time, which leaves your little character missing easy grab-jumps and constantly falling to the beginning of the level while the timer ticks down. I can generally only play one level at a time, before getting so frustrated at the controls that I quit playing it for the next two months.

LittleBigPlanet…do I even need to get into the controls and hit detection that are so sloppy, even the game’s designers admit there’s something amiss–and then completely reneged on their promise to repair the broken controls by Christmas 2008? I have tried so hard to love this game with all my heart because it’s extremely unique and obviously a labour of love (see also: Stephen Fry narrating), but it’s another one that leads to migraines. I still recommend to friends that they play this game–but as a rental. I can’t justify buying it until you’ve seen if you can love it despite the crappy controls.

LocoRoco…another game that would be so creative and so much fun, if only the damn LocoRocos actually did what they were told, instead of bouncing in place and ogling the pretty butterfly that is clearly telling them to jump on each other and form a stack. Many friends have seen this game on the PS3 and wanted to try it, only to give up after ten minutes of yelling at the screen and shaking the controller.

Ever since the PS3 entered my home, I’ve had this theory that game developers aren’t making games harder–they’re making games harder to play. (Or perhaps making the games themselves “stupider” so that they don’t recognize what you, the player, are trying to do with that weird little alien “controller” thing your PS3 has heard so much about.) And there’s a big difference between the two. People like a challenge. People don’t like watching themselves fail even though they hit the right button at the right time. If developers can’t get regular old button-dominated controls to work as they should, how can they expect to re-revolutionize gaming with a new(ish, *ahem* Nintendo) type of control? Do me a favour, Sony. Get the old right before you move on to the new. Make me love you, as Nintendo made me love them over two decades ago, and continues to make me love them, by getting it right the first time. And Microsoft? At least try to catch my interest next time, okay?

I now end this largely nonsensical ventilation to pop pills for the headache and more tea for the throatache. Catch you on the flip–or catch you at Nekocon this weekend for those who are going, provided I’m not dying of the zombie plague by then!

…congratulations to Richard and Katy, the supreme rulers of the Spwugniverse!!!!!

They are the essence of everything that is Spwug.  Without either of them, this site wouldn’t be here to bring you a daily dose of all things geek.

It was an honor and a privilege to witness the joining of these two forces of good.  They are my friends.  They are my family.  I am proud to be the head writer of something they envisioned, and I am proud to be a part of their lives.

My best wishes to both of you, Pocky Rich and Katy.  Here’s to bigger and greater things.  With your powers combined, anything is possible.

Greetings, Spin Doctors!

As promised, here is the second installment of my highly popular and deeply revered Fall TV Watch List.  Unfortunately, as I look at the list of shows I’m currently watching, it appears that my list this year is smaller than I anticipated.  Part of that is because of the reason I mentioned in part one – not many new shows for the 2009/2010 season really grabbed me while a large portion of the shows that I did like were snuffed out like a wealthy, old man who lies on his death bed while his pillow-wielding son Billy (sorry – it’s William now) decides he wants his inheritance immediately.

The other reason is because there are about three or four shows that I can’t discuss yet because they haven’t started yet (Thanks, NBC!  Way to show your support for “Chuck”!  I bought and ate a Subway sandwich for that show!)

Still, I’m able to toss four more shows at you this week, with an extra helping of two new animated series that I’m having a ball with.

And remember kids – just because a show may not be listed here, doesn’t mean it isn’t a good show.  Let me be your LeVar Burton and use this series to stimulate your desire to go out and find shows that you like on your own!  These are just shows I am able to fit into my schedule that I really enjoy (except for one – I think I’m just a glutton for punishment with that one).  But, you don’t have to take my word for it…

“Community”

This is one of the two new shows of the fall season that I decided to add to my regular watch list.  In fact, I was originally going to give it a pass.  I’m glad I changed my mind.  This show is pretty funny so far, unlike when I tried that “Office” clone “Parks and Recreation”.  Joel McHale (of “The Soup” on E!) stars as a(n) lawyer opportunist who is forced to go back to community college because it’s discovered by the State Bar Association that his degree isn’t valid.  Add in an eccentric variety of characters that he shares classes with, mix thoroughly, and enjoy.  The biggest surprise here is Chevy Chase.  Yes, that Chevy Chase (no, not the bank).  This guy hasn’t been funny in years, but he seems to have gotten his second third fourth twentieth wind on this show.  I find myself laughing at the antics that made 80s Chevy so much fun.

“The Office”

There are those who are UK “Office” purists.  There are those who prefer the US version.  I say, “Are you gonna eat that donut?”  I mean, what else is there to say about this show?  The US “Office” started out looking like a weak clone of the original, and wasn’t faring much better.  Six seasons later, and the show is still as strong as ever.  I came into this show late, but it has become one of the shows I eagerly anticipate week after week.

“Smallville”

I mentioned that there is one show I’m a glutton for punishment for.  This is it.  I will admit, this show really shouldn’t even be on this list.  The storylines are contrived, the acting isn’t great, the plots go in odd directions that would make your GPS rethink what vocation the GPS Guidance Counselor in GPS high school advised her on (oh come on – we all use the female voice).  But for some reason, I can’t quit this show (yes, I made a Brokeback joke).  If for no other reason, I want to see Clark finally become Superman.  I think Tom Welling fills the role well enough.  And every season they manage to hook me with some gimmick.  Last season it was Doomsday.  This season… Zod.  Yes, he’s already delivered the “Kneel before…” line.  Moving on…

“Dollhouse”

The newest offering from everyone’s favorite scribe (except for you) Joss Whedon.  This is a show that should have been one of the casualties of the 2008/2009 season.  But, somehow Fox decided to graduate it to sophomore status, despite a very clunky year one.  Although the networks stepped on Joss’ toes consistently during production of the first half of the first season (forcing rewrites, episode shuffling, character changes), Joss was able to wrangle the reins back during the latter half, salvaging a sinking show and making the last few episodes pretty riveting to watch.  So far, the second season is starting out rather strongly, especially since all of the build up and introduction has been taken care of.  I’ve always been a loyal fan and supporter of all things Whedon, so I think I’ll be sticking around the “Dollhouse” for a little while longer.  At least until “Firefly” magically makes a comeback.

And now… a few brief words about two new animated shows that I’m finding myself eagerly diving into each week:

“Titan Maximum”

Holy crap, this show is awesome.  Hyperbole aside, this is another stop-motion animated show by the guys who brought you “Robot Chicken”, only this time they’re going the “Venture Bros.” route – creating a new universe of characters based on the sentai shows we grew up with in the 70s and 80s like “G-Force” and “Voltron”.  This show pays homage to those slices of fandom while at the same time parodying them.  And they’ve done their homework, from the character-types they use to the campy music they play during fighting scenes.  And this show is hilarious, importing the same type of humor enjoyed on “Robot Chicken”.  Plus: Billy Dee Williams as the voice of the Admiral that the TM crew has to answer to!

“The Super Hero Squad Show”

I know, your jaw’s in your lap – “Does he mean that little kiddie cartoon based on those little Hasbro figures for the kiddies?”  Indeed I do.  This show is a lot of fun!  When I first heard about it, I said my “feh”s and didn’t think another thought about it.  Then, I got to watch a mini-marathon of the first three episodes during Horrorfind Weekend in the hotel room.  This show hides some really intelligent writing under the “made for ages 4 – 8” Bruce banner.  It’s a silly, pun-filled romp where some of Marvel’s most famous (and even some obscure) heroes go up against the Marvel villains every week.  It’s all fighting and bantering, but it’s imaginative and fresh.  To put it best, it’s like if a Marvel Superheroes cartoon was done by the folks who brought you “Tiny Toons”.

And with that, I wrap up part deux of the 2009/2010 season watch list.  I plan to bring you at least one more, but it may have to wait… until spring, unfortunately.  That seems to be when the rest of the shows on my list come back.  In the meantime, this is October.  I’m running a little behind this year, but expect some Hallowe’en-themed articles for the rest of the month.  I leave you with a nugget of awesome news – our own Head Honchos, Richard Kim and Neomera, are getting hitched this weekend!  Now you know why they’ve been a little sparse around the site lately.  A couple of us Spwugnerians will be in attendance to bring the proper amount of geek representation, of course.  So, when you get a chance, please offer your best wishes to the happy couple!

I’m out!

The Don is ready for his treatment.