Apollo

Didn't know the best place to put this, but

I remember playing Shadow of the Templars on my PS1 as a kid. I also remember it being too difficult for my younger self to figure out - am I recalling correctly that if you died, you had to start over from the beginning?

Holy shit indeed. Amazing how they can take something as comparatively dull as a presidential election and turn it into some of the most interesting points in the series, and the way that season ends... just incredible how that show continues to keep the viewer hooked as the familiar characters you know and love are constantly thrown into more and more precarious and wildly different situations.

I dusted off Baldur's Gate 2 today. Man, this game is awesome. I've had it for years, tried to play it when I was younger but couldn't quite wrap my head around the gameplay and all the systems at work (I do have the massive game manual but hell if I was gonna read that all the way through). I'm used to the Bioware style of RPG now since I'm a big fan of KOTOR, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age, so that's been helping. Still, a couple of hours in and I'm struggling to escape the first dungeon/prison you start in. Not looking up any guides though, I wanna get the full experience of this game since I've seen such high praise for it everywhere. Anyway, yeah, tough game to get started in, but I can already tell that I love it.

Man, it's times like these I resent Marvel's idea to sell movie licenses to other studios. Imagine if Marvel had been making their own Spider-Man, X-Men, and Fantastic Four movies for the past decade, and could now intertwine them with the Avengers movies? Even though they're not part of the classic Avengers team, I'd love to see Spidey and Wolverine fighting alongside Thor and Iron Man in this movie. I'm sure I'll see this anyway, that trailer did pique my interest more than anything else that's come out about this movie (besides the unfortunately errant rumor that Donald Glover would be playing Spidey).

Anybody watching Alcatraz? I'm just about caught all the way up. Seems ok, nothing incredible but I am a sucker for this type of show. There's enough overarching mystery to make me wonder what's actually happening, it's good seeing Hurley again, and Sam Neil is in it - those three things are enough for me to stick with it.

And before I forget, around now would be a good time to watch Razor, since it's about the Pegasus before and after they find Galactica, and those arcs and characters will be fresh in your memory.

....why did I have to open my big mouth? Yeah, I was trying to figure out how far away you were from that episode, since I knew it was coming up for you and the timing of that question was great. It was apparently down to contract disputes - they wanted him to sign a deal through the end of the series but he didn't want to commit, so they killed him off rather than investing more screen time into a character whose actor might bail at any time. Still, it was sad - the person who eventually replaces him pales in comparison to how great he was. Just finished watching "The Captain's Hand" Yep, for something that could easily have been a sloppy way to add length to the season ("Another Battlestar!? What's gonna happen now!?" type thing), pretty much everything that happens with the Pegasus is awesome. Get hyped for the season finale. The Season 3 finale is my favorite, but that show just really knows how to bring it for the end of each season. I can't imagine having to wait for a new season to start - I only got into the series about a year after it ended, and I'm almost glad I wasn't following it as it aired, would've driven me crazy.

....why did I have to open my big mouth? Yeah, I was trying to figure out how far away you were from that episode, since I knew it was coming up for you and the timing of that question was great. It was apparently down to contract disputes - they wanted him to sign a deal through the end of the series but he didn't want to commit, so they killed him off rather than investing more screen time into a character whose actor might bail at any time. Still, it was sad - the person who eventually replaces him pales in comparison to how great he was.

Nice, I'm playing 8 myself, first time I've gotten to disc 3 in years. I forgot how batshit crazy that game gets after you get to Esthar.

Are you up to "Black Market" and "Scar" yet? Black Market is widely regarded as the worst one they did. Scar is a divisive episode, personally one of my favorites but a lot of people hate it. Favorite characters so far? I'm a huge fan of Baltar, Adama, Apollo, Tigh,Starbuck, Number 6, Chief Tyrol, Helo, Sharon... shit, I just went and listed most of the cast. Anyway yeah, there are some deaths. I can't remember exactly when they happen, but they're in there. Favorite arcs/scenes/episodes? The stuff with the Pegasus was pretty great, right?

I think you can turn those off with VLC, depending on how they did it. Eh, either way I ordered the box set....$115 off of Amazon for the entire series and shit. Over half off. Should be here Monday. Yessss. Keep an eye out for noted "greatest character of all time" Dr. Gaius Baltar. Although he is pretty polarizing, most either love him or hate him. Do you know if your box set comes with the two made for TV movies they did? I can't say missing "The Plan" would be too terrible, but "Razor" is one of the best things they did, and that's saying something. Also, I saw Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol tonight. I'll be damned if that movie didn't keep me entertained for its entirety. Everyone in it was either pretty good or awesome, a bunch of really great action sequences, and Sawyer from LOST is in it! Anyone with any interest in seeing a very fun action flick should check it out in theaters.

Why would a banana be grabbing another banana? I mean, those are the kind of questions I don't want to answer. AD is one of my all-time favorite shows, and this is a great excuse for me to watch the series again, it's been far too long.

I really enjoyed that book as well. Hopefully the movie is as good as the book, but I doubt it. The issue with translating WWZ into a movie is that you lose the personal stories which is the crux of the novel. Unless it's filmed like a documentary then it's bound to lose something along the way. That's been the talk, are they going to be able to keep what makes the book so good? From what I've read they decided to go in a different direction because making the movie the way the books written was difficult and even after they wrote it they didn't think it would transition well to the big screen . Instead they're going to go into some type of gradious zombie epic that'll probably be a trilogy. I guess if the book inspires an epic zombie movie then I can't complain. I guess if they string out the chapters into chronological order and focus on the core events that are mentioned as turning point in the book, then it should still be alright. Sadly, I don't even think we're going to get that. From what I understand, the format and overall feel of the book is going to be pretty much ignored for the movie, using it as more of a reference point than a re-telling. In a way it's a shame, as my favorite aspects of the book were the different settings and characters, and the way it was more of a series of short stories than a novel. The movie (again, as I understand it) is set to be more of a big-budget action flick that depicts a war between military and zombies. It does seem like it's going to be a fun movie in its own right, just not very close at all to what the book presented.

Thought last night's 30 Rock was better than anything they did last season. I'm a sucker for a good Jenna episode, and I thought she was really funny. Plus that whole singing contest show they had was hilarious ("America's Kids' Got Talent," brilliant. Also having John McEnroe as the nice judge that loves everything, and D'Fwan's triumphant return). Parks & Rec continues to be amazing, and while all of the campaign stuff was good, my favorite bits were the ones with Ben and Chris - Adam Scott and Rob Lowe play off of each other so well, and the fact that it culminated in that 5-second claymation "masterpiece" was great ("How could it not be longer!?"). And The Office was alright, which seems to be par for the course this season. I kinda half-watched parts of Up All Night, and it certainly seemed better than Whitney or Outsourced but I'm still bitter that Community isn't back. Community - Parks & Rec - The Office - 30 Rock is such a killer lineup, and I get that they want to experiment with other shows, but I guess I'm selfish when it comes to sitcoms.