You Rebel scum…

So yeah, it’s been a while… *cough*

It’s been an amazing week for nostalgia, with the re-release of classic space combat games X-Wing and TIE Fighter. My response to this has ranged from an initial scream of HOLY ZARQUON SINGING FISH to having to restrain myself from squealing with joy (Hey, I was at work) to walking round with a grin on my face so wide that it threatened to snap my face in half. And this is in the same week that Captain Marvel and Black Panther movies got announced, so it’s not like I’m short of geekgasm.

That’s basically how I looked when I first saw the press release.

Those games are a massive part of my adolesence, since it’s not like I was doing things like partying, drinking or spending time with the fairer sex. Ahem… X-Wing let me live out a childhood dream of taking part in the attack of the first Death Star, which I then never managed to complete owing to it being ludicrously difficult. TIE Fighter, on the other hand, was where I took my first steps on the dark path and found that playing the bad guys can be incredibly fun. (See the TV show Leverage for more of that) It also had several features that X-Wing lacked, such as backing up your scores if you got killed, being able to match speed with your target and the TIE Defender, the most broken Starfighter EVER. You also got a second campaign, where if you talked a with a mysterious Cloaked Figure, and completed a bunch of hidden objectives, you got an awesome tattoo slowly branded on your arm by FORCE LIGHTNING, a tattoo that I’m unashamed to admit I wanted badly when I was 14, and still do a little at 34.

See – told you it was awesome.

Just flying a TIE Fighter itself was amazing – the sound of the things is practically engraved on my eardrums. Hell, the only reason I’m writing this and not playing the games is my lack of a joystick, something I intend to rectify over the weekend. Then I’ll be 14 again, it’ll be back to my youth, or at least the bits of it I actually like remembering. Now, if they can also re-release X-Wing vs TIE Fighter and X-Wing Alliance, then I may be so happy the universe will shatter.

PS: I still want one of the Imperial Officer uniform caps, despite the fact I’m sure I’d look ludicrous in it. But I did once buy a pair of WW2 flying goggles solely to wear to a Crimson Skies Clix tourney, so I have some history in that department.

Sydcon 2014: A Report

So, what did I do at Sydcon? Feel ill mostly. I bought the board game Tsuro, an expansion for Pandemic and some wonderful art. Didn’t buy any dice though, which might be part of the reason why I was so sick.

I did get the chance to play Havoc Brigade, an incredibly amusing game about a bunch of semi competent Orcs (Or possibly a pile of Goblins) on a suicide mission to capture a Human prince. I got to play a pirate caption (Without a ship mind you) and managed to score an award for not using anything but the front door, or a hole blown in the wall by an explosion. Oh, and did I mention I started out dressed in an outfit the Sixth Doctor would consider garish and later upgraded to a coat that Rob Halford would think a little over the top*? Much fun and well worth your time, but I think that of anything that encourages you to speak in stupid accents.

My game (Also about a bunch of semi competent Orcs, but these are musicians!) ran twice, with both groups of players seeming to have enjoyed themselves. (I say seeming, cause of self-doubt more than anything else.) Having people say they saw your name on the GM’s list and immediately signed up is a hell of a thing – flattering and terrifying in equal measure. Could I have handled the game better? Probably. I have a tendency to indulge my players too much when they’re enjoying themselves, which can derail things even further than I normally do. Eh. It’s not like my games are structure heavy to begin with – go play WoD if you want that sort of thing! (It’s not that I have issues with World of Darkness games, just they tend to feature things like strong emotions, harsh decisions and ‘issues’, things my games mostly ignore in favour of bad accents and explosions. I’m like Michael Bay in that respect.)

The big question is will I write another game featuring these characters?

A: Probably not. I have an idea or two for a third game (They wake an actual Tarrasque and are told ‘You woke it up, you kill it”), but the second was a lot more of a struggle to write. It was fun, don’t get me wrong, but it felt more like work to write rather than fun. Part of that may be due to my state of mind at the moment, but that’s something for another time. It’s not like I’m short of other projects anyhow. Some of which, I shall detail below!

A Conan the Barbarian freeform: In the Rats Nest tavern in Arenjun the City of Thieves, a wretched hive of scum and villainy even by Zamoran standards, something incredibly valuable has been stolen, though what and by whom is not yet known. The person who did the stealing is there, as if the fence they’re selling it to, and the person who commissioned the theft in the first place. Along with several people who could use the item, exchange the item for goods and/or services or just want to get it to screw someone else over. (Those individuals have no idea who each other are though.) Skullduggery, backstabbing and shenanigans occur, or hopefully will if it get’s written. (Yes, I did recently re-watch Conan the Barbarian and it’s just as awesome as I remember)

A Deadlands freeform: A post-apocalyptic western, set in a small town that’s hosting both an election for Sheriff and a poker tournament. Co-writing this one with some friends and will hopefully make some movement on it soon. Also, one of my co-writers hasn’t yet seen The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which I need to rectify regardless.

[SPOILERS] tabletop: A super- secret project that I refuse to spoil. Which I can’t anyway, as it’s not written yet! All I’ll say is that it involves a large blue box…

Enough for now. Sleep beckons, hopefully. (Smoke detectors are lovely, but when they decide to let you know the battery is running low at 5:30 in the morning, they’re less useful…)

* The alternative version of that joke was ‘had more medals than a third world dictator‘

Some thoughts on fandom

So yeah, the silence. *cough* Been busy writing other projects, new job etc. In an effort to post something, anything, here’s some thoughts on Doctor Who fandom.

I swear from the tone of some of the anti Steven Moffat comments I’ve seen of late, it’s like they think watching the new season is equivalent to being strapped down Clockwork Orange style and forced to watch Attack of the Cybermen on loop. (That’s one for the Classic Era fans – people who’ve only seen new Who can substitute either Fear Her, Love and Monsters or The Rings of Akhaten in it’s place) I’m just struggling to understand the sheer level of vitriol that’s been thrown his way over the last few weeks. Yeah, the episodes haven’t been as fantastic as we might have hoped (Robot of Sherwood wasn’t great, but I really enjoyed Into the Dalek), but they’ve been in no way deserving of the level of abuse I’ve seen.

That’s the facial expression I pull whenever I watch Attack

I get it, you don’t like his work. That’s fine – everyone’s free to have opinions and I welcome that. The world would be incredibly dull were it one giant hive mind that agreed on everything. (Even if that was something that should be agreed upon, like how amazing the Ramones are) I’m not a huge fan of a fair chunk of his more recent work, but he hasn’t done anything on the scale of marrying Martha and Mickey. (Yes, that’s right – make sure the two black companions who’ve had no previous interest in each other should get together when she was already engaged to someone else. Thanks Russell T Davies!) There’s been ups and downs all through the show’s history – for every story as good as The Time Warrior we’ve had The Time Monster. Something as magnificent as The Caves of Androzani and something as rubbish as Time Flight.The horror of Time and the Rani is contrasted by the glory of The Happiness Patrol.(Fair warning: dislike Androzani and I mock you on the internet. Dislike Happiness and PISTOLS AT 10 PACES!) Give it a year or two, we’ll get a change of production team and a show that might be more to your taste again, or just give you more to bitch about. Or maybe you’re one of those people who will never be satisfied by anything Who ever does, in which case you’re dangerously close to turning into Ian Levine and one of him is, frankly, more than enough. (Yes, he returned a lot of missing episodes and saved many others. but he also produced Take That’s first single.)

*looks into mirror* Kandyman, Kandyman, Kandyman!

I guess what I’m trying to say is calm the hell down – it’s just a TV show. (Yes, it’s somewhat hypocritical of me to say that, but I’m trying a sense of perspective out. It’s still new and shiny!) Put that anger toward something more productive, like curing cancer, fighting for social change, reversing the planned ABC budget cuts or just going out and mocking Jacqui Lambie. As much importance as I place on Who (And believe me, it’s a lot), I know there’s far more important things out there. But while Who is on, they can get stuffed!

Dominion, a review

Things I did not expect to hear this week: Anthony Stewart Head doing an American accent.

Things I did not expect to see this week: Anthony Stewart Head’s face mid-blowjob.

Look, we had to mention that first, it’s very much the elephant in the room. I’d say it’s testament to Head’s skill as an actor that he can emerge dignity intact from this, but he managed that in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and that not only starred Nicholas Cage, but had a cameo from Christopher Lambert. (In short: it’s far from a good film, but a very entertaining one)

So, I got to watch the pilot for the new SyFy show Dominion this week and I’m going to write about it. I’ve not seen the film it’s based on (The 2010 film Legion, starring Paul Bettany), but when has that stopped me before? To bring you up to speed, a war in Heaven has kicked off, thanks to God vanishing. (Where is he, off playing skee ball?) The Archangel Gabriel, who thinks mankind is unworthy, has convinced a large number of angels to wipe out humanity thinking it will bring God back. The Archangel Michael, however, sided with humanity and now lives among them, waiting for the prophesied Chosen One to appear. (dun-dun-DUN!)

Dominion- Season 1 Our main cast.

It’s now 25 years after the events of the film. Humanity has mostly collapsed and now lives in giant walled cities. We meet our hero, Alex Lannon (Christopher Egan) on a scavenging trip outside the walls, where he encounters 3 humans possessed by Angels, (referred to as 8-Balls and no, I’m not making that up), gets in a fight and has to flee back to Vega, a city built on the ruins of Las Vegas. It’s a well done sequence that sets the tone of the rest of the pilot, in which we get long sections of exposition delivered straighter than the straightest thing you can think of, mercifully interrupted by explosions.

The two leaders in Vega are Consul David Wheele (Anthony Head) and General Edward Reisen (Alan Dale), who spend most of their time glowering at each other, at least when Head isn’t chewing the scenery with his shiny new American accent. It takes some getting used to, like watching something dubbed in another language that also happens to be English. Wheele is a former televangelist, while Reisen is the military leader who helped win the last war and establish Vega. I think you can guess who’s the dodgier of the two… There’s also the standard bunch of supporting characters – the secret girlfriend (Who’s the daughter of one of the city leaders), several fellow soldiers and a cute orphan girl I’m sure is destined to either A: be intensely irritating or B: get killed off at a dramatically appropriate moment. She’s no Adric (thankfully), but she’s also no Newt.

The pilot proceeds along the expected lines, but in a neat surprise we find out the identity of the Chosen One, which is a blessed relief – I was dreading episode after episode of the characters trying to work it out while I hurl abuse at the screen telling them to hurry up. We won’t tell you who, but I’m pretty sure you can work it out for yourselves. It’s not the identity that’s the surprise, more that they got it out of the way nice and early, preparing us for the inevitable ‘I’m not sure I can do this’ episode, the ‘acceptance of my destiny’ episode and if Arrow has taught me anything, many a shirtless training montage.

I’m still waiting for him to yell “Squadron 40, DIVE!”

Can we recommend this? If you’re a fan of supernatural shows, then yeah. Maybe if you enjoy post-apocalyptic clichés, are looking for costuming ideas for upcoming LARP’s (The whole modern dress mixed with ancient Rome is an interesting look) or just want to watch Anthony Stewart Head chewing scenery. (I mean, who doesn’t want to see that?) Look, if you’re expecting the next Game of Thrones, you’ll be disappointed. But there’s a good chance this could turn into something decent, or at the very least, entertainingly crazy. Only time, or Wikipedia, will tell…

The Babylon Project: Part 1

It was the dawn of the third age of mankind, ten years after the Earth/Minbari war. The Babylon Project was a dream given form. Its goal: to prevent another war by creating a place where humans and aliens could work out their differences peacefully. It’s a port of call, home away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs, and wanderers. Humans and aliens wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal, all alone in the night. It can be a dangerous place, but it’s our last best hope for peace. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2258. The name of the place is Babylon 5.

Ahem. As a large component of this blog is me yelling at you about things I love (Or it would be if I posted more often), I’m going to take you through one of my favourite shows, Babylon 5. I’ll try to avoid spoilers where I can and I’m also not going to touch on the whole ‘Which came first?’ issue with B5 and Star Trek: Deep Space 9. Suffice to say that issue has kept internet message boards flaming for years, with the two fandoms openly hostile, something that helped prompt Majel Barrett Roddenberry (Widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry) to appear during season 3, as a gesture of goodwill to calm things. More about that later…

Beautiful ain’t it?

The show was planned around a 5 year arc, unlike much episodic TV at the time. There’s no end of episode reset button either – events carry on, relationships mend and fracture and plot points from early episodes can and do come back. Yes, this means you have to watch it all, just in-case you miss an obscure bit of plot. It also has an impressive knack for quality, even if the A plot of the episode is a bit weak, the B plot will make up for it. This also got us genuine character development – look at the evolution of Londo and G’Kar over the 5 seasons and the changes are astounding. Oh, and in another important distinction from Star Trek, humanity are still frequently a bunch of dicks. There’s none of the utopian society hippie nonsense from the 60’s, just humanity – flawed and emotional, as capable courage, compassion and acting like total *bleeps* in equal measure. All that and the station has toilets and the uniforms have pockets!

The main cast of season 1

I was introduced to the show around the time season 5 began airing, which left me with a lot of questions, not all of which could be answered without spoilers. It took a few episodes, but I was soon hooked. I also have the show to blame for my love of the mandarin collar and for almost any foreign accent I do to turn into Londo Mollari within about 30 seconds. (My wife thinks it’s a great impression by the way) It’s near unique in that its creator J. Michael Straczynski (AKA JMS or the Great Maker if you’re being formal) wrote 92 out of the shows 110 episodes –including all of seasons 3-5, bar 1 episode and that was written by some guy named Neil Gaiman. (Fun Fact: He got an an alien race in the show named after him!) It also had ships that obeyed the rules of physics in space (And the Starfury is a beautiful thing), the first large scale use of CG in televison and a wonderful knack for episode titles – Parliament of Dreams, And the Sky Full of Stars, The Geometry of Shadows and Ceremonies of Light and Dark to mention but a few.

The Star Fury – almost as cool as the X-Wing and scientifically accurate to boot!

The titular station is the fifth of the Babylon stations, intended as a diplomatic outpost in the wake of the Earth-Minbari war, which started thanks to the mother of all diplomatic SNAFU’s and ended in mystery, with the Minbari surrendering on the verge of victory. Why? That would be telling… As for the station’s name, that’s simple – it’s the fifth of the Babylon stations. The first 3 stations were destroyed by sabotage and the fourth, well that’s an interesting story…

In true SF tradition, each of the races has a distinguishing feature – the Narns are lizards, the Minbari have bones coming out of the backs of their heads and the Centauri have some of the most awesome hair ever seen. One of the things that JMS was striving to avoid was the rubber forehead look so common to TV aliens and for the most part he succeeded. Perhaps the greatest example of thing was Vorlon ambassador Kosh, who resided in a sealed encounter suit and spent his time being mysterious.

The Jukebox. (Kids, ask your parents)

So, I’m giving you a brief look at big episodes season by season. We’ll try to avoid spoilers, but some minor ones may slip past, more so as we move into the later seasons. It’s an average first season, containing more than a few of the standard SF tropes (Alien martial arts tournament, rubber suit monster etc), but those episodes are saved by either the B plot (As previously discussed) or by dropping hints at future events. Yeah, the CG is dated, but this was done 20 years ago on a tiny budget (Rumor has it roughly the half of an episode of Star Trek, but what shines are the story and character, something it shares with classic Doctor Who. And there was a rumour that JMS wanted to hire Tom Baker to appear in his Doctor Who costume in the background of an episode…

I’m bypassing the pilot movie, (The Gathering), mainly because I don’t own it. Instead, we kick off with the first episode aired, MIDNIGHT ON THE FIRING LINE:

Well, it’s a pilot, and as pilots go it’s not bad. We meet our main cast (Well, most of them), get a fair whack of exposition (The Narn and Centauri hate each other while the Vorlons take cryptic to new levels) and the scene is set for the show. I’ve seen better pilots and I’ve seen worse. Still, the payoff for the running gag about Garabaldi’s (second) favourite thing in the universe is magnificent.

MIND WAR:

Wait, is that Mr Chekov dressed in black? Why yes, that is Walter Koenig and he’s fantastic. We know human telepaths exist (As they do in several of the others races), but it’s our first look at their governing body, the Psi Corp and well, they dress in facist black. What were you expecting, pastels?

SIGNS AND PORTENTS:

The episode that gave the season it’s title, the first time we meet Mr Morden and the first major revelation of what was to come. And it all starts with a simple question, just 4 little words: “What do you want?”

A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS PARTS 1 AND 2:

Londo Mollari reciting the Hokey Pokey. There’s a hell of a lot that goes on in the two-parter, with some great revelations and future events hinted at, but really, what more do you need?

BABYLON SQUARED:

One of the great mysteries of the show is answered (Well, sort of…) and more questions are asked, which is what happens when you involve time travel. We also meet Zathras and to hive any hints as t what I’m talking about would be criminal.

CHRYSALIS:

The first season finale, in which a conspiracy is unearthed, Ambassador Delenn embarks on an alternative lifestyle and a whole lot of stuff happens. There is happiness and doom in equal measure and a dark cloud on the horizon, with none of that ‘everything wrapped up nicely’ BS, cause that’s not what this show is about.

And so we come to the end of season 1. Uneven and in some places down right terrible (TKO, I’m looking at you) in places, but worthy of praise, it did it’s job of introducing characters and hinting at things to come pretty well. What really makes it was when you’d seen the entire show and realised just how much of the ground was laid during season 1.

So, what does Ambassador Kosh actually look like? What the hell happened to Delenn? What is this mysterious new enemy? Some of these questions may be answered soon, when we look at season 2, The Coming of Shadows…

WHO’S USELESS NOW?

We’re a bit short this week, as I’ve been busy being gainfully employed. Naturally, this has curtailed the amount of time I can spend writing for you, but A: they pay me and B: I have an ID photo that’s not too bad, which is a nice change for me, given that my driver’s license makes me look like I’m about to commit an act of jihad. (ASIO, I’m joking. Please don’t break down my door)

Anyhow, we’re here to talk about one particular item of news. You might say there’s been a deluge on this subject, possibly a flood or maybe a drenching. Certainly a shower, or maybe an oversaturation. Calling it a tsumani is more than a bit tacky, but it’s certainly more than a drizzle.

What could have produced such an ocean of watery attempts at humour? Well, it’s finally been confirmed that Jason Momoa is playing Aquaman in Batman vs Superman. As you remember, it was rumoured a few months back, but no-one had the decency to actually confirm anything until now. As far as I’m concerned, this is a really good thing – Momoa’s a fine actor who has the physicality to pull it off. That and given his early stint on Baywatch Hawaii, he’s used to wandering around wearing little, which I’m confident will be part of the marketing. (Look at what Marvel did with Thor for starters…)

My biggest worry is that Snyder will GRIMDARK it up, also my biggest complaint about Man of Steel – Superman walking the Earth to find himself was an interesting interpretation, but the orgy of destruction that was the end of the film just didn’t seem right to me. That’s not what I go to see a Superman film for – he’s the guy you look at and think ‘If only more people were like him’, rather than the guy who broke Metropolis. I guess I like seeing heroes who are enjoying themselves, like Chris Evan’s Johnny Storm in the otherwise forgettable Fantastic Four films. That might be my love of Batman: The Brave and the Bold talking, but that show’s Aquaman was amazing. If it’s wrong to want a hero who thinks everything is OUTRAGEOUS, who calls people ‘old chum’ and bursts into song from time to time then I DON’T WANT TO BE RIGHT.

How can you not love that?

That wasn’t the first piece of news though – earlier in the week Zack Snyder was on his way to work and heard two radio DJ’s making fun of Aquaman, so he proceeded to call in to defend him. (It’s worth noting this is pre-announcement, give the ‘Not to say he’s in my movie’ denial) So, Zack Snyder, you had my curiosity, now you have my attention. By way of apology, I take back two of the horrible things I said about Man of Steel!

To top it all off, there’s word that Warners is working on not one but two scripts for an Aquaman solo feature. Apparently, this is to ensure the best quality script while ensuring it meets deadlines, but to me it’s a shitty thing to do to a writer. I get you want to get a movie into production, but making writers compete in some sort of script writing Thunderdome doesn’t guarantee you a better film, just more stress and one guy pissed off his script wasn’t chosen.

Look, I’ve made my fair sure of jokes in the past, when I probably shouldn’t have. As my wife pointed out, Namor doesn’t get jokes made about him, but who outside of comic’s fans has heard of Namor? I guess all I can hope for is the movie takes a character best known for being a joke and make him awesome again, the way he should be. And failing that, I’d be happy with footage of Jason Momoa singing the ‘Rousing Song of Heroism,’ if that’s not too much to ask?

I’ll be singing that for the next week. Pity my housemates.

Hail the Great Maker!

Hey all,

I’d like to say this week has been consumed with panic over my re-entering the workforce next week, or looking forward to the friends weddings I have on this weekend and next , but mostly it’s been re-watching this clip of gardening with Patrick Stewart. By the way, if anyone can identify where that came from, please?

First off, there was a lot of panic about the news that Studio Ghibli closing, but it turns out it’s just taking ‘a brief pause.’ So, no need to panic folks, just take a little time to get a more accurate translation or re-read an article before you panic and start posting about it. Actually, that’s a sensible rule for everyday life.

Sony are said to be planning a female-led Spider-Man spin off and Bridesmaids director Pail Feig has been linked with an all-female Ghostbusters reboot. Now, I’m not much of a fan of remakes, but if they’re going to happen I’d rather they be different from the original. Think of it this way – you might not want to see a Ghostbusters reboot starring Tina Fey, Amy Pohler, Melissa McCarthy and Yvette Nicole Brown, but I’m pretty damn sure you’d prefer it to one starring Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade and Eddie Murphy (in a fat suit). And if you do want that film, well, we might not have much to talk about in the future…

Best drink it quick before Slimer get’s to it…

DC blinked this week, with the announcement that the release date of Batman vs Superman has been shifted to avoid competition with Captain America 3. They’ve also announced 9 more DC movie release dates, with two of those called ‘Untitled WB Event Film’ which could mean the Harry Potter spin off films. It’s expected the films will include Sandman, Justice League and Wonder Woman movies, but at this early stage your guess is as good as ours. Despite being horribly behind compared to Marvel, there’s still the chance they could get a female led movie up first. Yes, I’m aware of Catwoman and Elektra, but we ignore those for two reasons. 1: they aren’t part of the current cinematic universes and 2: they were fucking terrible.

In a lovely piece of news, Bill Mantlo, creator of Rocket Raccoon, got a private screening of Guardians of the Galaxy. Mantlo (who was severely injured in a traffic accident) Meanwhile, director Peyton Reed has confirmed another female character in Ant-Man, Young Justice will return as part of a crossover with Teen Titans Go! Both Fantastic Four and Avengers: Age of Ultron have wrapped primary shooting, writer Nicole Perlman isn’t working on a Black Widow movie, though she did write a treatment in 2011, but an extended cut of X-Men: Days of Future Past is coming next year. The planned Spider-Man spin off will now be titled Venom Carnage (Which is a stupid title if you ask me, not that anyone has) and the blooper reel and a pair of deleted scenes from Captain America: The Winter Soldier have been released.

The ABC has announced they’ll simulcast the first episode of Doctor Who and producer Steven Moffat has promised more online content for the show. Meanwhile, BRIAN BLESSED!! revealed that he turned down the role of the Doctor when offered it in the late 60’s. It’s difficult to know how accurate this is, with versions of the story staying he was offered the role after either William Hartnell or Patrick Troughton left the role. Either way, the mere thought of Blessed wearing a vevet smoking jacket and doing Venusian Akido is enough to make the world just that little bit better. And LOUDER!

Reverse the polarity of the neutron DIIIIIIIIVVVVEEEEE!

There’s acouple of pictures of Matt Murdock from the set of Daredevil, Disney have ordered more episodes of Avengers Assemble and Hulk and the Agents of SMASH and IDW creating both TV and comic adaptions of the Douglas Adams series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Some concept art from Bryan Singer’s planned version of Battlestar Galactica has surfaced and the SyFy channel are adapting John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War as a series.

The extended cut of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will add 25 minutes to it’s already dangerously overlong running time, the reboot of The Mummy has been confirmed for 2016, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is set to shoot next month and Dead Island is set to join the long and inglorious list of video games turned into films. Sooner or later one of them has to be good, right? Right?

In news that I probably should be happier about, J Michael Straczynski has announced he’s working on a script for a Babylon 5 film, one that he’s hoping to have finished by the end of the year. Given the deal with Warners over Babylon 5, they own the film rights, with several attempts to get a film made over the years, the last being in 2004. As much as I love that series (And I do – I made my girlfriend, who’s now my wife, watch it all while we were dating and there was a reading from it at my wedding), I’m extremely wary of any more. It was a combination of the writing and the cast (Several of whom are no longer with us) that made that show what it was, and I’m not sure that can be recaptured. Yes, a reboot won’t spoil the original, but I want this to be good so much I don’t think it possibly could be. Still, with JMS at the helm, there’s hope. And, I think I’ve found a subject for another series of articles…

It was the dawn of the Third Age of mankind…

The Ninja Turtles reboot has been in the news, with an Australian only poster for the film showing our heroes jumping from a burning building. That may not mean much but with the release date of the film being September 11, well, that’s just a little awkward… Megan Fox had some rather strong words for critics of the film and no less a musical authority that Vanilla Ice has put his two cents in, claiming the new movies theme song ‘lacks the magic’ that represents a ‘true ninja.’ If you’ll excuse me, I’m just going outside to laugh – I may be some time…

We have the first look at Nicholas Cage in Left Behind, a new teaser for Constantine and the first 7 minutes of Star Wars: Rebels, which looks promising. There’s also more footage from Comic Con, with the Geek and Sundry highlight reel along with footage from the Assassin’s Creed and Walking Dead themed obstacle courses captured by users wearing Google Glass, which finally means there’s a practical use for that hipster monstrosity of a facial accessory.

It was thought to be a typo, but the title of the next Terminator film is… wait for it… Terminator: Genisys. Arnold will be kept busy, with The Legend of Conan hoping to start shooting next year. I still hold out hope that we’ll see a version of Conan on screen that matches the version in Robert E Howard’s stories. It’s a fool’s hope, but one I hold on to.

Harsh, but true.

Disney are said to be building a Star Wars themed park while the team responsible for keeping track of the Expanded Universe have redefined the timeline, basing things now on Phantom Menace, rather than setting year Zero at the destruction of the Death Star in A New Hope. I’m not sure why they felt the need to mess with a timeline that’s been working nicely since the formation of the EU, I guess to remind everyone the prequels exist? Maybe it’s a Vader thing. Still, I was interested to see the timeline of The Clone Wars series laid out – trying to keep track of where the episodes were supposed to have occurred was driving me spare.

New cast members have been announced for Agents of SHIELD, Arrow and Westworld, while the pay dispute that threatened to delay The Big Bang Theory has averted, with Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco reportedly now to earn about 1 million US per episode of the show, with the deal set to go far beyond per episode fees. Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik have already signed deals, with Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar signing close to deadline. 22 minutes for a million dollars – that’s a hell of a thing…

We leave you this week with Ray Park showing a youngster dressed as Robin how to use a staff. It’s kind of sweet seeing apprentices sharking knowledge. Sure, it’s the apprentice to the Dark Lord of the Sith sharing said knowledge with the World’s Greatest Detective’s young ward, but it’s still sweet.

Quote of the Week:

(G’Kar and Na’Kal are sitting down to dinner)

Na’Kal: Breen! You’ve managed to import breen from Homeworld! How?

G’Kar: It, uh…isn’t actually breen.

Na’Kal: The smell, the taste—!

G’Kar: It’s an Earth food. They are called Swedish meatballs. It’s a strange thing, but every sentient race has its own version of these Swedish meatballs! I suspect it’s one of those great universal mysteries which will either never be explained, or which would drive you mad if you ever learned the truth…

Babylon 5 – Walkabout

Cheers,

Gavin

Conventions, consent, chaos and cosplay

Welcome again dear readers!

My Sydcon blurb has been submitted, now all that remains is to write the game, prepare the soundtrack, gather any props and costume, then work myself into a MAXIMUM ROCK AND ROLL FRENZY before running it. Oh, and to settle any fistfights over who get’s to playtest – people seem really keen to play this thing. Who knew there’d be so much demand to play an Orc in a rock and roll band?

Last weekend saw San Diego Comic Con, the time of year when studios save their new releases for and more news that you can poke a giant stick at is released. It’s also the time of year when my determination to be as completist as I can about the week’s news comes back to bite me in the ass, given the previously mentioned giant amount of news. So, if I’ve missed anything, or repeat myself, I apologise in advance.

Before we start, test footage for a Deadpool movie emerged during the week and if you were lucky enough to see it before it vanished, you were very lucky. It was animated in 2012 and while it looked like it was captured on a cheap mobile phone camera, the footage itself was fantastic. I can only hope the alternate universe where the movie got made is enjoying it, the lucky gits.

Mmmmm pancakes .Now I’m hungry…

As for the con itself, there’s a roundup of good and bad advertising (As usual, PETA meant well but missed the point, while the team promoting Outlander had a bunch of men in kilts walking round) and we can’t not mention the guy who took magic mushrooms before entering and texted his girlfriend his thoughts on the experience. We don’t endorse that sort of behaviour, but it makes for amazing reading. Peter Jackson wandered around dressed as an evil jester, while Adam Savage went out dressed as Kane from Alien. The cosplay, as usual, was fantastic to see with the highlights being a Baby Rufio and a lone person protesting Edgar Wright’s removal from Ant Man. (BTW, Wright’s next film is an adaption of the novel Grasshopper Judge) Oh, and the cryptic announcement about Young Justice from a couple of weeks back? Turns out it’s just a repackaging of the DVD’s, along with the first season being released on Blu-Ray. Talk about an anti-climax…

Too soon dude, too soon…

Sadly, as always there was a bunch of douchenozzles who think it’s OK to be jerks to women but the push against that sort of behaviour is getting louder, which is a good thing, with the most high profile effort being from the group Geeks for CONsent, who made signs and flyers detailing what was appropriate behaviour. It’d be lovely if this sort of behaviour was eliminated, so I hereby support the shaming and exclusion of these fuckknuckles until they learn better.

Pal, you’ll be apologizing for that till you’re blue in the face…

We got the first look at Wonder Woman from Batman vs Superman and the costume looks surprisingly good. Yes, I’m sure Snyder will screw it up somehow, but at least it’s not Michael Bay. And just in case you’re tempted, DON’T READ THE COMMENTS. Well, unless you need to refresh a burning hatred for humanity and haven’t see a Daily Telegraph front page recently.

Despite many people hoping for more, the only big announcement Marvel had was a sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy, while an animated series is also on the way. We still don’t have a confirmation on who’s playing Doctor Strange, but Joaquin Phoenix is, according to rumours, the frontrunner. Better him than Johnny Depp… (I don’t hate Depp, but I’m heartily sick of him being linked to EVERYFUCKINGTHING. Besides, I’m pretty sure Marvel will only give dump trucks of money to one person at a time and that’s currently Robert Downey Jr)

Marvel also had a collection of props on show from Avengers: Age of Ultron and the footage that was screened from the film sounded amazing. The concept art poster we previewed last week is now complete, it’s been revealed that Agent Carter will feature Edwin Jarvis (The flesh and blood version, not Tony Stark’s AI) and Evangeline Lilly is playing Hope Van Dyne (Daughter of Janet Van Dyne and Hank Pym) in Ant Man, which has lost 3 other members of it’s cast. They’ve also trademarked Squirrel Girl, which could mean we could be seeing her on screen soon, Agents of SHIELD is getting it’s own comic series and we know how who the new cast members are playing, along with the rumoured appearance of Bobbi Morse, AKA Mockingbird.

Yeah, that’s Squirrel Girl.

We got the first trailers for Mad Max: Fury Road, which can be summed up as sweaty people driving through explosions and The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies, which is Billy Boyd singing and people brooding. Christopher Nolan showed off a new trailer for Interstellar, the first trailer for Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt 1 arrived and the first look at The Death of Superman Lives shows just how strange a Tim Burton directed, Nicholas Cage starring Superman film could have been.

We have the complete Women who Kick Ass panel, which featured, among others, Katey Sagal, Maisie Williams and Tatiana Maslany, as well as a liveblog of the Women of Marvel panel. You can watch the Marvel and DC panels here, with a collection of the other big panels (Including Interstallar, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and Community) here. The Goosebumps panel had Jack Black having puppet trouble, Stephen Colbert was in costume for his job moderating The Hobbit panel while Craig Ferguson moderated the Game of Thrones panel. And the press conference for the Blu-Ray release of Batman ’66 (Featuring Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar) was amazing with it being wonderful that something that was mocked and derided for so long was finally getting the recognition it deserves.

DC Comics television department have been busy, with new trailers for The Flash (Which announced 2 new cast this week), Constantine, Gotham and Arrow, with an upcoming episode of Arrow investigating Felicity’s past titled Oracle. In other TV news, the people behind The Legend of Korra have spoken about how the show’s not exactly cancelled, just moving on-line and Sam Raimi announced he’s working on an Evil Dead TV series, with Bruce Campbell set to star. That’s no guarantee it’ll actually get made mind you, but there’s hope.

That’s basically how I look first thing in the morning.

The new cast of Game of Thrones have been announced and there’s still no Damphair. Harrumph. We also have the season 4 gag reel – seeing Tywin Lannister smiling is a lot scarier than I was expecting…. There’s a fresh preview of Assassin’s Creed: Unity and shock rocker Rob Zombie made an animated prelude video for the game that’s as gory as you’d expect. We’ve the first trailers for Kevin Smith’s new film Tusk and Daniel Radliffe’s Horns, another teaser for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and the next season of The Walking Dead.

Alex Kurtzman is set to direct the reboot of The Mummy, Guillermo Del Toro has been talking about his plans for Justice League Dark and there’s the first look at The Thing from the Fantastic Four reboot. The comic series Locke and Key is being adapted into a movie series. The series was set to be a TV series at Fox, but never made it past the pilot stage. Continuing that thread, a movie of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series is in pre-production, which means no signings for Neil for the time being.

Quentin Tarantino is working on a sci fi movie, as well as his previously cancelled western The Hateful Eight, a Japanese Dragon Ball Z film is due in 2015 and Maisie Willaims is said to be in talks to star in the movie version of video game The Last of Us. We have a glimpse of the title sequence to Warcraft and Legendary Pictures have announced a pair of monster films, those being a sequel to the Godzilla reboot and a King Kong origin film, which rumour has it Joe Cornish is set to direct.

Disagree and he crushes your city.

Now, there was news that wasn’t released at the con, and here it is!

There’s trailers for post apocalypse drama The Maze Runner and the documentaries Atari: Game Over, which looks at the legends behind the Atari 2600 ET game and Mudbloods, which looks at the Quidditch clubs popping up over the world. From the ‘We need a new ‘Lord of the Rings series’ department comes word the movie rights to the Dragonriders of Pern series have been bought by Warners. It’s one of the series I keep hearing good things about, but every time I hear the name Anne McCaffrey the words tent peg pop into my brain. I can’t throw stones, given my favourite author was pretty damn far from a paragon of tolerance and modern thinking, but as first impressions go, it’s a pretty hard one to ignore.

The 21 minute teaser to the Star Trek fan feature Prelude to Axanar has been released, we’ve a longer trailer for Michael Keaton’s new film Birdman, production on the new season of The Big Bang Theory has been delayed with several of the main cast negotiating new contracts and there’s some new pictures and a brief teaser for the new season of Doctor Who. Not long to go now…

No context, I just really wanted to use this picture.

We leave this week with a selection of some of the stranger news from recent time, starting with the comics crossover you’ve been waiting for! That’s right, it’s time for a Star Trek/Planet of the Apes series, with William Shatner’s Kirk trying to stop the Klingons from aiding a renegade Gorilla general! No, I’m not joking. You can’t saw you don’t at least want to read this, even if only for the car crash appeal of the idea. In saner news, a study was done recently showing that kids you read the Harry Potter books are more tolerant of others and there’s a documentary about a Danish school that teaches through LARPing. Why didn’t this stuff exist when I was in school? You can read Tom Hiddleston’s adorable thank you letter to Joss Whedon after he first read the script for The Avengers and we end with a glorious piece of Pinky and the Brain.

Quote of the Week:

Deadpool: The day my father Odin banished me from Asgard, I was bitten by a vampire and had radioactive waste dumped into my eyes. To make matters worse, my mutant ability to control weather activated just as I was hit by a blast of gamma radiation. Nah, actually, I got this way by volunteering for the Weapon X program. They promised to cure my cancer. And they cured it all right, by giving me an outrageous healing factor. Then they labeled me psychotic and tossed me into a prison lab. So I escaped and became what some people might call a ‘mercenary’. I prefer the title ‘cleaner of the gene pool’. And I’ve made a lot of good friends along the way: like Arcade. He’s always sending me to his amusement park.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

Cheers,

Gavin

Manimal: The Movie. Really?

We begin this week’s instalment with some unexpected news: Deadpool was arrested Friday morning on a Sydney train. Yes alright, it was actually a guy dressed as Deadpool trying to raise money for charity, but who the hell thinks getting on a peak hour train covered in weapons is a good idea? Well, apart from Deadpool…

In better news, JJ Abrams released another video promoting Star Wars: Force for Change, but all eyes were on what he was standing in front of – an X-Wing starfighter. Naturally, the internet took to picking at it, querying if it was a Z-95 interceptor (The forerunner to the X-Wing), but it’s been officially confirmed. I might have started shaking with joy, pointed excitedly at the screen and babbled incoherently in shock at the sight of it, but who wouldn’t?

And May the Force be with Y’all!

We also some new footage from Star Wars: Rebels – an extended version of the first trailer, one titled A Look Ahead, which is mostly new footage and features a couple of familiar faces along with a new clip that aired during the Comic Con panel. Pretty snazzy looking show, but I still miss Clone Wars. Marvel will be releasing a Princess Leia comic series and Mark Hamill (Who was at the UK premiere of Guardians) is currently sporting an awesome Jedi Master beard. Beards are good.

This weekend is San Diego Comic Con, which promises all manner of awesome goodies. Ben Affleck’s Bat-Cowl is on display and a new picture of him wearing it has been released. I can’t speak for the rest of the outfit, or his performance for that matter, but that’s a mighty Bat-Chin. Oberyn Martell has been busy pouring beers, there’s the first look at Tracey Island from the new series Thunderbirds are Go and in Verse-shattering news, the original cast of Firefly are reuniting for the online game, with Alan Tudyk voicing multiple roles and Michael Fairman playing Niska. Yes, we we’re doing the ‘Please don’t suck’ dance as you read this and No, you can’t have footage of it.

Yes, that is George RR Martin.

Guillermo Del Toro has a presence, with the interactive game Pacific Rim: Jaeger Pilot and a display of props from his new film Crimson Peak, Christopher Nolan and Matthew McConaughey showed a new trailer for Interstellar and jack Black popped up to show off the first footage from Goosebumps.

There’s a couple of Avengers: Age of Ultron concept posters, the first trailer for Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is out and a never shot episode of Batman ’66 is to be adapted in the comic series. The episode itself was by writer and legendary cranky pants Harlan Ellison and is said to introduce Two-Face to the series, with rumours saying the producers wanted Clint Eastwood for the role back in the day. We also have the first look at the Blu-Ray box set of the TV show (Due for release in November) and it’s a thing of wonder and glory. And, it comes with toy Bat-Mobile!

If anyone has footage of that, I’ll make it worth your while…

There’s the first teaser for Halo: Nightfall, several new TV series have been announced, the cast and crew of Community have been talking about their resurrection (And giving away free Subway sandwiches) while Benedict Cumberbatch has been trolling people who ask him about Doctor Strange. *whew* All that? That’s just from the first day. Stay tuned next week for even more! Now, we get to all the other news that’s been released this week.

Marvel has announced the release dates for five unnamed films, which has speculators going nuts. It’s expected that one will be Doctor Strange, but all we know so far is that their plan is to release one sequel and one new film per year. (I’m hoping for Squirrel Girl myself) Marvel also announced a third mystery film, set to be released in the slot vacated by Amazing Spider-Man 3, which has been pushed back to 2018, with Sinister Six now set to be released in 2016. Note, despite some rumours, this doesn’t mean it’s a reboot, as some may have suggested, just the last Spidey film only made $700 million, which means of course it was a giant flop. I’ll never understand Hollywood.

It’s been confirmed that Arrow and the Justice League movie won’t be crossing over, though Arrow and The Flash have a crossover episode coming. Two new villains have also been announced for Flash, with Wentworth Miller playing Captain Cold, along with the character Plastique, though we don’t know who’s playing her. We also have the first look at Arrow’s Roy Harper in his new Arsenal costume and it looks good, but why all the laces?

I enjoy the show, but really, that’s what I’m watching for.

Robert Downey Jr might be up for Iron Man 4, the first poster for Ant-Man has been revealed and Simon Kinberg is trying to unravel story of the new Fantastic Four movie. Lucy Lawless has joined Agents of SHIELD in an unknown role, while Gotham has announced that Hugo Strange and Harvey Dent will both be appearing (Both roles are uncast at the time of writing) and Dwayne Johnson keeps dropping hints that he’s playing Shazam.

More pictures from Mad Max: Fury Road have emerged, a new adaption of the Arabian Nights tales is on the way and I for one am hoping that this version will have some actual Arabians in it! (Prince of Persia, I’m looking at you…) The long awaited film of Uncharted will be released in June 2016, with it set to start filming early next year. We’ve the first poster for The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies, the fifth Pirates film is set to be released in July 2017, the first picture from ‘video gamers must save the world’ film Pixels has been released, with Peter Dinklage’s mullet the star. Hopefully it’ll be fun, but as it contains Adam Sandler, I won’t be seeing it.

Just cast Nathan Fillion or Joe Flanigan, please?

In big TV news, Microsoft closed Xbox Entertainment, which means projects such as the planned reboot of Blake’s 7 are now cancelled. That could be a good thing though – there’s a few shows that should never be rebooted (Red Dwarf, Babylon 5) and Blake’s is one of them. Sadly this also means the planned Deadlands series is gone – I was really looking forward to that. Moving on, Orphan Black is getting a tie-on comic series, Anthony Hopkins has signed on to HBO’s Westworld, and the 200^th episode of Supernatural will be a musical. Joseph Fiennes will be playing the title role in Nostradamus, there’s some casting news for the upcoming SyFy series Killjoys and fear not fans, Legend of Korra hasn’t been cancelled, it’s just moving online. It’s expected more news will be released at Comic Con – watch this space!

From the ‘You’re joking, right?’ department comes word that Will Ferrel will be producing a film version of Manimal, the short lived early 80’s show about a man who fights crime using the power to transform into different animals. It’s hopefully third time lucky for Painkiller Jane, with another attempt at bringing the character to the screen, following a TV movie and a short-lived SyFy series, Roberto Orci has told Power Rangers fans not to worry and that he won’t ruin their franchise. There’s the first look at Neil Blomkamp‘s next film, Chappie, Vin Diesel has confirmed both a third XXX film and the long awaited Kojak movie and in really bad news, Tremors is getting a reboot.

Almost every time I’ve worn a kilt, someone has tried that.

Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things is becoming an off Broadway play, there’s the first look at Elsa in Once Upon a Time and Chris Carter has been talking with Fox about a reboot of The X Files. A new promo picture for Doctor Who has been released and it’s both spoilery and paying homage to a famous moment in the classic series, Steven Moffat still wants Peter Jackson to direct an episode of the show and we have details of the limited edition 50^th Anniversary box set. In other news, Peter Capaldi’s first adventure will be getting a limited cinema release, though at the time of writing we’ve no idea about Australian screenings.

There’s trailers for the comedy Space Station 76 and documentary The Death of Superman Lives, a brief promo teaser for Guardians of the Galaxy, which has a brief glimpse of Thanos’ throne and Nebula (Karen Gillan) speaking and a new teaser for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which leads me to wonder why is it always hip hop? Can we not have one movie that shows the heroes rocking out to something with guitars? Just once, I’d love to see a fight kick off and something like Toxic Waltz or 2 Minutes to Midnight start up. Is that too much to ask? There’s plenty of geeky metal bands (Blind Guardian wrote an album based around The Silmarillion for crying out loud), so we can’t we metal fans get a bit more love?

I’m not saying replace Howard Shore, but now that you mention it…

We end this week with the next salvo in the eternal war between Britain and France, with a British inventor building what can best be termed a giant fart machine (AKA a valveless engine), to be set up the cliffs of Dover. The machine itself will be disguised inside a giant pair of trousers and aimed at France. Apparently, it’s a test to see if it can be heard over the channel, given the stories that First World War artillery fire could be heard from that distance. Or that it’s an incredibly elaborate way of saying that farts are funny, which is the more likely theory.

Quote of the Week:

Felicity: What were you thinking?

Oliver: What?

Felicity: Over 64 million woman over the age of consent in Russia and you sleep with her.

Oliver: So we’re not doing the “What happens in Russia stays in Russia?”

Felicity: We’re still in Russia.

Arrow – Keep your Enemies Closer

Cheers,

Gavin

GABBA GABBA HEY!

Some have asked after reading my recent piece on the Ramones for more on just why this band means so much to me. Well, be careful what you wish for.

Firstly, I stand by my original recommendation, which is go out, buy the first 4 albums (Ramones, Leave Home, Rocket to Russia, Road to Ruin) and It’s Alive, then take them home and listen to them, preferably at a police attracting volume. But, since you require more than that before committing your hard earned monies (Sensible in this day and age), then HEY! HO! LET’S GO!

To begin, consider the opening lyrics to Rockaway Beach, from the album Rocket to Russia:

Chewing out a rhythm on my bubblegum.

The sun is out and I want some.

It’s not hard, not far to reach,

We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach.

What, you mean you aren’t already sold? Tough crowd you are…

Let’s look at the music then. It’s simple 3 chord rock, with little more than guitars, bass, drums and vocals, played at a speed that may sound tame today, in an era that contains Slayer, but in the mid 70’s was faster than light. Why is this so special? Consider the state of ‘popular’ music. Pro Tools, Auto Tune, an ocean of manufactured pop acts and bands that only exist in the studio (You want to call yourself a musician, you play live) and all those goddamned TV talent shows, stuffed full of people singing the same shitty pop songs and deluded into the belief that they’ll be ‘stars’ for longer than 5 seconds. Yeah, I’m sure they’re lovely people, but I don’t care. It’s that instant stardom mentality that’s destroying music as far as I’m concerned. Anyhow, back to my point. There’s something refreshing about a song that’s nothing more than 3 chords and verse, chorus, verse. Solo’s? Fuck that. Extended instrumental passages? Go away. Virtuosic playing? You must be joking. It’s liberating, inspiring and all those other bullshit motivational words. You didn’t have to sit in your bedroom for fifteen years practising, all you needed was 3 chords and the guts to get onstage and that’s something that’s needed, badly.

It’s no bullshit music, all killer, no filler and even if there’s a song you don’t like, at the speed they play it’s over before you know it. It’s wasn’t any one person, but a mix of all four of them that made the band what it was. Combine Johnny’s ferocious down strumming (Which was basically all he knew how to do on the guitar), Tommy’s rudimentary drumming (He was set to manage the band, until their lack of suitable drummers put him behind the kit), Dee Dee’s autobiographical song writing (53^rd and 3^rd wasn’t just a song…) and Joey’s amazing voice (It should be the dictionary definition of teen angst) and everything just worked, like a musical Frankenstein’s monster, or Voltron.

And they wrote about everything. There were songs about teenage boredom, cretins, loneliness, axe murderers, bizarre family, shock treatment, drugs, violence and other subjects that make for great pop songs. And love. Oh, were there ever love songs… From ‘I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend’ (Fun Fact: that played at my wedding) to ‘She’s a Sensation’, ‘She’s the One’, ‘Oh Oh, I Love Her So’ and ‘I Just Want to Have Something to Do’, which contains possibly the most perfect opening lines in anything*:

Hanging out on Second Avenue,

Eating Chicken Vindaloo.

I just want to be with you,

I just want to have something to do.

But if you really want to know just why I love this band so much, go and listen to Blitzkrieg Bop. That’ll explain it better in 2 minutes than I could given a million years.

*Yes, even Neuromancer.

shoutybeardything

Author Archives: shoutybeardything

You Rebel scum…

Sydcon 2014: A Report

Some thoughts on fandom

Dominion, a review

The Babylon Project: Part 1

WHO’S USELESS NOW?

Hail the Great Maker!

Conventions, consent, chaos and cosplay

Manimal: The Movie. Really?

GABBA GABBA HEY!