Brian Austin Green Talks Sarah Connor Chronicles

 

ComicBookResources posted up a great interview today with actor Brian Austin Green, who plays the character of Derek Reese on the TV show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.  In the interview, Brian discusses the events that unfolded with his character in the last two episodes of the recently completed season two of the show (major spoiler warnings if you haven't watched the episodes yet) as well as the possibility of whether the show will get a season three and what that third season would entail.

 

Regarding the possible 3rd season, the actor says that he hasn't heard anything yet and that the cast and crew are still anxiously awaiting word, just like the fans are, of whether or not they'll be given the go ahead for one more season of robot fighting action.

 

My favorite part of the interview though came when Brian was asked about how he feels, being a sci-fi fan himself, that the fans of the Terminator franchise have for the most part responded positively to the creation of his character.  Here's his response:

 

Well, thank God they do. It could have gone either way, you know? Look, everybody knows that. It could have worked really well or not worked at all. I grew up loving “The Terminator” as a kid. When “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” came out, it was just one of the most incredible movies I had ever seen at that point. So for me, it was important. I understood that. I understand the fans in the sci-fi community. I understand their passion for what they grow up loving, watching and reading. I understand that if somebody is going to take that and recreate it in anyway, then they better do it the best fucking way they can.

 

I grew up loving “Star Wars.” That was my thing, “Star Wars” and “Battelstar Galactica” when I was a kid. But more so than “Battelstar” was “Star Wars,” it was just the most incredible franchise to me. You know, I was so excited when the new films were released. Then obviously, being an old school “Star Wars” fan, I was a bit disappointed by the way the new ones came together.

 

When I went into “Terminator,” I felt like I better fucking kick–ass with this character because he’s related to Kyle Reese. I know Kyle Reese is one of the most beloved characters in the franchise so I knew there was a lot riding on it.

 

It always makes me happy when I hear someone from a popular sci-fi show is also a fan of the franchise its based on.  It makes me feel at least slightly more secure that the show will do its best to do right by the fans, because that means that at least some of the people making it are fans too and they don't want to make a bad show either.

 

I'll admit to not having liked the character of Derek Reese when he first showed up.  I thought the sudden appearance of a never before heard of brother of Kyle Reese was a bit of a crappy plot device to add characters to the show.  Plus, he was being played by a guy who once starred on Beverly Hills 90210, so that was a double strike against the character.  Over the course of the two seasons the show has been on the air though, I've been totally won over to the character of Derek Reese.  That's due in large part to Brian Austin Green's amazing performance.

 

Derek Reese is a total badass.  He's lived through Judgement Day and is an experienced veteran of the resistence.  He's a soldier who is tough, no nonsense and is incredibly efficient.  He's actually become one of my favorite characters on the show.

 

I really hope Sarah Connor Chronicles gets picked up for a third season.  So much happened at the end of the second season that I'm just dying to know what happens next.  There are so many plotlines left open.  So many new story possibilities.  If Fox cancels this show, I'm going to be heartbroken.  They can cancel Dollhouse all they want and I won't care.  But please, please don't cancel Terminator.  It's the best show they have on the air right now.  If it goes away, I'll have no reason to watch Fox again anytime soon.

Muppets + Zombies = Total Amusement

 

 

Thanks go to my good friend (and Resident Evil 5 Partner) Aaron for pointing this out to me.

 

Someone put together an incredibly amusing trailer that's related to the zombie video game Resident Evil 5.  The main characters though have been replaced with Muppets.

 

Muppets killing zombies.  How have we never seen this before?  It's like two great individual tastes that come together to make one super flavor of greatness.  Pay attention for the quick Bert (from Bert & Ernie) cameo as he appears very briefly as a zombie victim.

Star Trek Possibly Being Released Early + New Clips

 

Star Trek, as we all know, is set to come out on May 8th.  I'm sure there are already many die hard Trek fans out there that are already planning on taking Friday off of work so they can go to the midnight showing the night it comes out.  However, it's starting to look like people won't have to wait until Midnight on the 8th to see the new adventure of Captain Kirk and his crew.

 

Comingsoon.net is reporting that Paramount has plans to release the film starting at 7pm on May 7th.  If this turns out to be true, then its great news for Trek fans as they'll be able to get to see the new film a good five hours earlier than expected.  As soon as I can get confirmation of this news, I'll be sure to update this post.

 

And now, for sheer random fun (and because of my current Trek Mania), here's some new Trek clips that have been released that I haven't posted yet.  This first one shows Kirk doing his usual bucking of authority as he stands up to Spock on the bridge of the Enterprise.

 



 

This next clip is one of the new commercial spots for the film, and in it we get to see a few new clips we haven't seen before, so I figured it was worth posting.  It looks like Kirk has to save Sulu's life at one point in the film.

 

New Geek DVD Day - 04/14/09

Ok, so it's another slow week for geek DVD's.  And when I say slow, I mean really REALLY slown.  To be honest, only one film came out that's of any note whatsoever, and that film is The Spirit.  Otherwise, I scoured the new release pages over at Amazon hoping for anything at all that was worth posting.  Alas, there was nothing to be had.  So I apologize, but this week's list is exactly one item long.  That's all there is to see.  Sorry.  Hopefully next week will be better.

 

 

 

The Only Thing Out This Week:  The Spirit

 

Should you watch it?  That really depends on your tastes.  I'd say that if you are at all a fan of the Spirit comics, I'd suggest against watching it.  The Spirit from the comics is not the same person as the Spirit in this movie.  The character is all wrong and fans of the comics will be very angry.

 

If you've never read a Spirit comic, it's possible you'll like the film.  Just be warned, don't go in expecting a dark or gritty film.  This film is campy on a level not seen since the last time Adam West and Burt Ward wore tights.  It's over the top in its cheese.  It's campy to the point of absurdity.  Personally, I enjoyed it for being so silly, but I know a lot of people won't like that.  So rent it first.  If you like it, then go buy it.  If you hate it, well, join the incredibly large mass of people known as the majority of the movie going public.

Voltron Will Take Part In The Monsterpocalypse

 

Voltron is an incredibly popular animated series about a group of people who pilot giant mechanical lions in order to defend their homeworld by battling giant menacing monsters that have a tendency to go rampaging around and destroying cities.  Monsterpocalypse is a tabletop boardgame made by Privateer Press that is about a bunch of battling and rampaging monsters that have a tendency to go around and destroy cities.  To say the two properties belong together is sort of like saying that beanut butter and chocolate combined might just possibly be a good idea.

 

In short, it's a bit of an understatement.

 

Which is why I'm super excited about the news today that Privateer Press has gained the rights to include Voltron as an expansion set to their game about giant rampaging monsters.  Including Voltron in a game about giant fighting creatures that are as tall as skyscrapers seems like the most natural thing in the world.  Fans couldn't ask for something more awesome than this.  Afterall, here's what the game Monsterpocalypse looks like:

 



 

Now just imagine owning a set of miniatures included with this boardgame that features the Voltron lions, and then imagine yourself getting to play the game in which you get to control the lions as you whoop these roody poo candy ass robots all the way back to wherever the hell they came from.

 

Am I alone in being excited here?

 

Of course, if the stats for the lions are in any way relative to how they were in the show, the lions themselves will be pretty weak and they'll get their asses handed to them by whatever monsters they fight.  Even once they turn into Voltron, they'll fight a little better but they'll still end up getting knocked all around the city.  The real power, of course, comes once they unleash their "Form Blazing Sword" attack.  That thing is pretty much a one hit kill on every creature in existence.  I'm even pretty certain that the sword could take out god with only one hit.

 

Unfortunately, the Voltron set won't be available in stores until early 2010, but hey, at least its something to look forward to.

 

(Via RobotViking)

Admiral Adama Goes To Washington

 

This is so cool.  A while back, the creators and cast of Battlestar Galactica were invited to speak before the United Nations on topics such as how their show dealt with issues like terrorism, post war reconciliation, human rights and other topics.  Among those at the talks were show creators Ronald D. Moore and David Eick as well as actors Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama) and Mary McDonnell (Laura Roslin).  The talks also featured  the SciFi Channel President David Howe and guest host Whoopi Goldberg . 

 

The SciFi Channel has posted video of the entire event on its website.  I've posted the first part of the five part series here.  You can see the rest of the clips by going to SciFi's Website.

A Rare Sight Indeed. Robots And People Working Together

 

All too often in popular culture, we see man and machine at war with each other.  Whether it be Terminators from the future, or Cylons from our distant past, mankind seems destined to forever be at war with the machines we've built.  Occasionally though, some human-friendly android comes along that bridges the gap between man and his machinations.  For every army of Terminators, there is always one T-800 who protects us.  For every fleet of Cylons attempting genocide on the human race, there's always one Cylon like Caprica Six who just wants to sleep with us. 

 

And sometimes, just sometimes, a tiny little robot comes along that actually needs our help to survive.

 

Tweenbot is one of these robots in need.  Designed as an art project by NYU student Kacie Kinzer, Tweenbots are an experiment that look at man's relationship with the world around them, as well as their willingness to help out with something they might not even completely understand.  Here is the project as described by its creator:

 

In New York, we are very occupied with getting from one place to another. I wondered: could a human-like object traverse sidewalks and streets along with us, and in so doing, create a narrative about our relationship to space and our willingness to interact with what we find in it? More importantly, how could our actions be seen within a larger context of human connection that emerges from the complexity of the city itself? To answer these questions, I built robots.

 

Tweenbots are human-dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.

 

Given their extreme vulnerability, the vastness of city space, the dangers posed by traffic, suspicion of terrorism, and the possibility that no one would be interested in helping a lost little robot, I initially conceived the Tweenbots as disposable creatures which were more likely to struggle and die in the city than to reach their destination. Because I built them with minimal technology, I had no way of tracking the Tweenbot’s progress, and so I set out on the first test with a video camera hidden in my purse. I placed the Tweenbot down on the sidewalk, and walked far enough away that I would not be observed as the Tweenbot––a smiling 10-inch tall cardboard missionary––bumped along towards his inevitable fate.

 

Made out of very basic parts, including cardboard and a black sharpie, one of the tiny anthropomorphic robots was set loose on Washington Square Park in New Yor City.  It's mission was to get from the Northeast corner of the park to the Southwest corner.  How did the little robot do?  Was it aided along the way by random humans who stopped to read its sign and give it a helping hand?  See the results for yourself.

 



 

The results were unexpected. Over the course of the following months, throughout numerous missions, the Tweenbots were successful in rolling from their start point to their far-away destination assisted only by strangers. Every time the robot got caught under a park bench, ground futilely against a curb, or became trapped in a pothole, some passerby would always rescue it and send it toward its goal. Never once was a Tweenbot lost or damaged. Often, people would ignore the instructions to aim the Tweenbot in the “right” direction, if that direction meant sending the robot into a perilous situation. One man turned the robot back in the direction from which it had just come, saying out loud to the Tweenbot, "You can’t go that way, it’s toward the road.”

 

So not only did the humans who noticed their miniscule robotic brethren stop to help him, they also made sure to keep him out of harms way.  Way to go helpful humans.  I don't know about you, but I would definitely stop to help a tiny robot in need if I ever saw one.

 

I know I'm being an optimist here, but  it's stories like this that make me hope that one day, humans and machines can live together in harmony.  No more nuclear wars, no more genocides, no more taking the mainframes offline for good.  Just peace and brotherhood with our robot brothers and sisters.

 

All I am saying is give robot peace a chance.

 

(Via Boingboing)