It seems as if America has been anticipating this zombie apocalypse for quite a while. The number of movies and TV shows about it is astounding. Almost as if someone out there knew it was coming….hmmmm.
While the electricity is still working, why not take some down time and do a little research for what is about to become your current reality…
Zombieland
This is the perfect movie to refer to for zombie apocalypse survival. There are survival tips and everything and it’s funny. And let’s face it, now’s the time when funny is really gonna be the thing that gets you through. Laughter really is the best medicine!
The Walking Dead
There are 6 seasons of The Walking Dead (season 7 is set to premier on October 23rd, but given that reality just started imitating art…who knows.) That’s a whole lot of field research to dissect. Season 1 is all about fighting zombies, learning to survive, the art of hand to hand combat and which weapons are the best ones to pick. By the time you get to season 6, the zombies are the least of everyone’s worries and people become the main threat.
While I do recommend going through the whole Walking Dead journey, you’re crunched for time. Who knows how many days are left till the power just runs out. So skip ahead to seasons 5 and 6. The group’s confidence and bad assery are just what you should be watching right now.
Fear the Walking Dead
To watch a bunch of people who have no idea what to do against zombies, refer to Fear the Walking Dead. A great show. But because of the journey taken on The Walking Dead, watching these people not know what they’re doing is almost like take 12 steps backwards. Still plenty of great moments to use for research on your future zombie hunting endeavors. But I’d say to stick to the big boys and watch The Walking Dead instead.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
This one is fun, whimsical and totally bad ass! The perfect choice for anyone looking to train in hand to hand combat and get more proficient with a blade. Plus if the Bennett sisters can fight the hoards in Regency Era dresses, you can certainly fight in your Old Navy jeans and Forever 21 tops! You got this!
Dawn of the Dead
I’ve actually never seen Dawn of the Dead. I don’t particularly like scary movies. But reality just became a whole lot scary than any movie. So now is the time to give it a look.
Shaun of the Dead
And of course, if you’re going to watch Dawn of the Dead, you should follow it up with Shaun of the Dead. Because, again…laughter, humor, levity…these are the things that will remind you that life is worth fighting for. And Simon Pegg is a king of comedy!
28 Days Later
Same argument here as for Dawn of the Dead. But make sure not to get it confused with 28 Days, which has absolutely nothing to do with the zombie apocalypse.
Warm Bodies
And finally, the tender love story of a girl and her zombie. Love in the time of apocalypse…it’s harder than it looks on TV. So enjoy movies that remind you of romance, because dating in an apocalypse? Not really a thing. But more on that later!
I’ll be honest. Tron wasn’t one of those things I grew up watching and loving. Back in the 80’s, if my parents didn’t watch it and introduce me to it then I never saw it. And when I got older I just forgot about it. But I did see Tron: Legacy when it came out in 2010 and I know it was no classic Tron and Disney clearly decided Tron 3 wasn’t worth pursuing, but I really liked it. And this style is dedicated to my science fiction pal at work who LOVES Tron!!
The key to the Siren, Gem is a really slicked back top knot. Now my hair is super curly by nature, so I can’t get it to play this game quite as well as Beau Garrett can in the picture above. But there are ways around that. Like Tron inspired makeup to keep the spirit alive!!
You get the picture. And remember to check back. I have 27 days to go!!
This week I’m finishing up the Thrawn Trilogy with Timothy Zahn’s The Last Command.
As you know, I’m not one to spoil so I’m not gonna give anything away for those who haven’t read this yet. So here’s what I will tell ya!
Timothy Zahn is a master of story telling and he keeps, so faithfully, to the spirit of the original trilogy that thinking about how this story is now just a “Legend” and not true canon, makes me a little sad. Mara Jade is a seminal character to any fan of the Expanded Universe. And if there’s one character that should make the transfer to the new stuff, it should 100% be her… you hear that Disney!!! Give us Mara Jade.
Still have a lot of reading left to do before the Journey to The Force Awakens officially begins in Sept.
If you’ve seen this week’s episode of my web series, then you know about my Sci-Fi Debate Club. If you missed it, take a look…
We didn’t plan it. We didn’t mean for it to happen. But when two of more nerds are gathered together, nerdy…geeky…dorky debates are bound to ensue! And yes… they can get rather heated at times. We nerds are passionate about our fandoms (to say the least.) But I think we can all agree that we are united in the way we love. We love with intensity. We love with all we have.
Here are some of the hottest debates (not all are science fiction related) in the nerd community…
#1 -Star Wars vs. Star Trek
Photo from FuriousFanboys.com
Do you prefer a galaxy far, far away full of rebels and stormtroopers, blasters and lightsabers, the Dark side and the Light side. Or do you tend to lean towards the order of Starfleet. The uniforms, the space exploration, the strange new worlds and civilizations? Personally, I don’t like to choose. I grew up with both of them in my life from a very young age and have never known a time when there wasn’t something to look forward to in the world of one or both of them. That being said, Star Wars does hold an extra special place in my heart. I cried when I saw the newest trailer for The Force Awakens and none of the Star Trek’s have elicited quite that response. But I do love both world greatly.
#2 – Would sex with Superman kill Lois Lane?
Photo from io9
Gotta admit that I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about this one. But I sorta think they’d find a way to make it work. Love will conquer all… even super powered nether regions.
#3 – Who’s the best Doctor?
This is a case of…why choose? Although, if I really did have to pick between all of Doctors that have ever been, I’d definitely choose the tenth Doctor, played by the incomparable David Tennant. (I guess I chose after all!)
#4 – Mac vs. PC or Android
This is more of a geeky tech debate. But it’s one that is had often and can get heated. Mac people are loyal and unswayed in their devotion to the apple. I used to be unflinchingly Mac oriented. And when it comes to computers, my loyalty stands. Now when it comes to phones…different story. 4 years ago when I finally upgraded to a smart phone, I was ready to take my place in the iPhone community, but alas, T-mobile did not carry iPhones at the time and that is the service my family uses. So I was forced to join the world of Samsung instead… and I’ve never looked back.
#5 – Bale vs. Keaton
What this boils down to is more of a best-Batman-ever-debate. Contenders: Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Kevin Conroy, Christian Bale & Ben Affleck (I guess we still have to wait and see about that last one.) I’m firmly in the Kevin Conroy camp. For those of you not in the know, Conroy voiced Batman on the beloved Batman: The Animated Series from the 90’s. The same series that hosted Mark Hamill’s icon voicing of the Joker (another popular debate among nerds: Best Joker ever.) Keaton comes in as a solid second for me (Batman Returns is one of my faves…I love Pfeiffer’s Catwoman!)
#6 – Marvel vs. DC
Photo from Kweeper.com
This is an issue where I really don’t want to take a stand. I could argue passionately for both. Though Marvel’s immersive world is just so unique and impressive right now. I grew up on the Batman and Superman animated series. And Superman has long been my favorite superhero of all time. Now as for favorite superhero team, I love The Avengers and I also really love X-Men. But my favorite villain is Harley Quinn. My imaginary superhero boyfriend is Captain America. But my imaginary best friend is Catwoman. See… I’m all over the place. I dip my toe in both pools and I just don’t wanna choose…so I won’t!
#7 – Game of Thrones vs. Lord of the Rings
This is a no brainer for me. One is a pop culture phenomenon. The show that brought dragons to the mainstream audience. That’s an amazing feat, to be sure. But the other is a piece of classic literature. A set of beloved stories that a parent can pass down to their children. An epic tale of hope and fellowship. An author who inspired the other so much that he went and added R’s in his name for that very reason. Any other argument is made invalid by that fact alone. (mic dropped…Liz out!)
#8 – Pirates vs. Ninjas
Photo from baconbag.com
Ok… we have to talk first about where and why and in what time period are these pirates fighting the ninjas. Are they allowed to bring their pistols to the sword fight? Cause pirates fight dirty, while ninjas are all about tradition. Though my coworker just brought up a good point…the pirates would probably be inebriated for the fight. So there’s that.
#9 – Captain Kirk vs. Captain Picard
There is a greater debate along these lines, who’s the best Starfleet Captain of all? Are you a Kirk fan? A Picard follower? Is it Captain Sisko that really gets you? Perhaps Janeway is the lady captain for you? Or maybe….nope that’s it! (Sorry Scott Bakula… I love you, but Enterprise doesn’t count.) Personally I’m a Captain Picard girl. I was a child of the 80’s and a preteen of the 90’s. And my parents l-l-loved Star Trek: The Next Generation. We used to watch it together all the time. So there’s a great deal of nostalgia and warm fuzzies attached to Jean-Luc. And while I really enjoy all the other Star Trek series as well and think they have stellar captains at the helm, it’s Picard for me!
#10 – Did Han shoot first?
Artwork by Fitz Fitzpatrick
This one is less a debate and more of a sore spot for hardcore fans of Star Wars. See… here’s the story. Star Wars was released in 1977. Beautiful, iconic, practically perfect in every way! 20 years later, George Lucas remastered his masterpiece to include some new things. Including, but not limited to, the scene between Greedo and Han Solo in the Mos Eisley cantina. In the original, untainted version of Star Wars, Han shoots Greedo, killing him and thus ending their conversation. This gave Han a cold-blooded killer persona. One that the Maker did not intend for Han. So when the remastered editions came out, George took the chance to set the record straight and added CGI footage of Greedo shooting first, missing and then Han shooting and killing him afterwards. Fans were unhappy, to say the least (the very least.) In actuality, fans were pissed!! 20 years of believing something about their beloved hero only to have it changed? This isn’t the only thing about the remastered versions that would upset the fans. But George Lucas maintains that Greedo shot first, while fans insist the opposite. Han Solo himself (Harrison Ford) was asked about this nerd debate in a 2014 Reddit conversation. His response…”I don’t know and I don’t care.”
At the end of the day, we all love and love hard. So what are your thoughts on these very important and pressing issues in the world of nerdy things? Let me know in the comments below!! Even if we disagree, I still love to hear about it!
The demand for more sci-fi hair has been heard. So today, I give you Agent Dana Scully. Doesn’t get much more science fiction than the X-Files. Scully is half of a team of special unit FBI that investigate the unexplainable. David Duchovny’s Agent Fox Mulder makes up the other half.
This is a classic working girl, power-bob. Very popular in the 1990’s.
Star Trek Into Darkness is an amazing follow up to J.J. Abram’s 2009 Star Trek.
It has everything you want and expect from something holding the illustrious title of Star Trek. But at the same time… this ain’t your daddy’s Trek. It’s updated and modern in all the right ways with plenty of nods to the past we know and love.
I mean… there was a freaking Tribble. And Khan, the baddest of the baddies in the Star Trek universe. But the twists and turns that Abrams allows his updated franchise to take only help the story.
Adding to that are very strong performances from Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and most especially Benedict Cumberbatch from the BBC’s Sherlock.
It was long rumored that Cumberbatch would be playing the role of Khan, but rumor was deflected with the release of his character’s name, John Harrison. But have no fear… John is a smoke screen and Khan is very real, present and dangerous!
The music is stirring, the visuals are stunning and seeing the USS-Enterprise up on the big screen again never gets old!
J.J. Abrams keeps on delivering gold. The only question remains is if he will be continuing on with Star Trek in light of his helming the Star Wars behemoth. One can only hope that he can manage them both. Because while Star Wars is in very good hands (and that warms my heart,) Star Trek could suffer from his absence. And that would be a shame!
All in all… go see it. If you’re a fan on the originals or just like a thrilling action film, it has something for everyone and is wildly entertaining!!
