There Will Be Geek

With the forthcoming release of Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Ready Player One, we thought is might be a good idea to revisit the novel, and see if it really was as good as the first pass led us to believe. Yeah. About that... We talk about the limits of nostalgia, terrible marketing, bad writing, and how far a gimmick will get you. Plus there's our regular Thimble of Win (with an additional Mugful of Meh). Links http://store.steampowered.com/app/289070/Sid_Meiers_Civilization_VI/ http://themusic.com.au/news/all/2018/03/06/reef,-the-wildhearts-and-terrorvision-unite-for-one-huge-aussie-tour/ https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/3k7mv5/ready-player-one-movie-poster-parodies    

This week, you're going to have to watch your backs... they have eyes everywhere. We've gone too far down the rabbit hole, and it's everywhere - the Moon, Abbey Road, all the way to the White House (Thanks Obama). I'm telling you, they've got body doubles, replacement band members, ghost writers, the whole nine yards. You've got to get the news out while you can!     Careful though - someone might be listening...

This episode, your favourite hopeless romantics travel through time and space, via war zones, alternate realities, and all points in between to bring you our favourite examples of couples and love in Pop Culture. Plus in our Thimble of Win, Chani raises hell, Cav goes to war and commits sin, an Mike is searching for a soothing balm. \ Get your smooch on people!   Links: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5476182/ https://divinity.game/ http://store.steampowered.com/app/230410/Warframe/ http://marvel.com/movies/movie/222/thor_ragnarok  

This week, it's the second half or our review of 2017, where we look further at our favourite pop-culture moments of the year.

This week, we give you the first half of our review of 2017. We give you our favourite Geek moments from last year, covering our usual bases of Games, Film, TV, and anything else we can come up with. It's a long one, and part two will be with you shortly.   We'll be looking to have a more regular schedule over the next year, and will hopefully be launching some new ways in which you can interact with the podcast.   Which, being people of taste and discernment, you will be only to ready to take advantage of.

This week, we look at Space Operas, and give praise/a good kicking to several notable examples of the genre, taking in Film, TV, Books and Games. We journey form Epsilon 3 to Mongo, from the Systems Commonwealth to the moons of Jupiter, all the while dispensing our verdicts without mercy. We're not including Star Wars, Star Trek or Doctor Who - they get enough coverage already, not least from us. So sit back and take in our thoughts on the Genre. Plus you can hear Cav rant, Chani gush excitedly at joining 2016, and Mike crack inappropriate jokes at every available opportunity.   Thimble of Win Links: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/quentin-tarantino-star-trek-screenwriter https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80097140 Other Links: Peter Duncan in Flash Gordon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKBr0WqkA3s   Thumbnail image credit: © Chris Foss

BAAAAAAAAAM! Bada baam! Bada bam bam bam bam bam bam, bam bam bam bam bam bam, bam bam bam bam bam bam, baaam ba ba ba....Baaa Baaa ba ba ba BAAA baa, ba ba ba BAAA baa,ba ba ba BAAA... This episode, Mike and Cav get together to give you their review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. So naturally, there are a lot of spoilers. We talk at length about the key moments of the film, its many narrative arcs, and where this leaves the future of the Star Wars universe. If you haven't seen the film yet, then wait until you have to listen to this episode.   Enjoy!      

We're back once again with our hiatus review. This time, we're talking about the best in TV and film from while we were away galavanting (in the case of at least one of our number, getting married). We take a look at Stranger Things, Star Trek: Discovery and Game of Thrones (with honourable mentions for The Defenders, and The Tick). We also rave about Baby Driver, have a good hard look at Blade Runner 2049, Thor: Ragnarok, Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Men Tell no Tales, and Spiderman: Homecoming. Yes - all of the colons!   And Chani losing her shit about Littlefinger.   Links: https://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80057281 http://www.cbs.com/shows/star-trek-discovery/ http://bladerunnermovie.com/ http://marvel.com/thor http://pirates.disney.com/ http://www.babydriver-movie.com/discanddigital/   https://www.facebook.com/TheSamePhotoofJeffGoldblumEveryday/ https://www.facebook.com/thesamephotoofjimcarreyeveryday/  

Well hello again. Did you miss us?   Once again, it's time to welcome back your three favourite Geek Vacationers, as we pass around the novelty donkeys, and break out the slide show while Uncle Marmaduke passes out in the corner after one too many brandies...   In this episode, we'll be looking at Chani and Cav's exploits, as we hear all about their adventures in the world of conventions. Chani dazzles us with her best Hollywood Smile as she regales us with tales of hobnobbing with the stars of VidCon, and give us the lowdown on PaxAus. Cav reviews Wolfenstein II: The New Collosus, and we almost kill Chani with fictional wrestlers. There's a monkey cat, teeth brushing in games, and shouting at a boy called Jason.   All you could possibly want, really.   Links: Chani at VicCon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DYDydAvftw   Other Links: http://vidconaustralia.com/ http://aus.paxsite.com https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/detroit-become-human-ps4/ https://www.extra-life.org/# https://wolfenstein.bethesda.n

This week, your favourite Geek Marines load up their hardware and go searching for Xenomorphs on the USCSS There Will Be Geek. We talk about the Alien Saga from its humble beginnings in Dark Star to the latest offering in Alien: Covenant. We talk about the successes, the qualified successes, the critical failures and the baffling decisions that have followed the story as it progressed.   Plus, in our Thimble of Win, we talk mini-gaming, world building and Rafa Benitez.   Thimble of Win links: https://www.nintendo.com.au/nintendo-announces-the-nintendo-classic-mini-super-nintendo-entertainment-system http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-gb/agegate http://www.touchingdistance.com/?page_id=1763  

"Take three Geeks. Go to Mike's. Record the podcast, grab coats, go to The Reverence*, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over. How's that for a slice of fried gold?" This week, Cav, Mike and Chani are sampling Three Flavours Cornetto as we look over Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End. We look at extended adolescence, friendship, and bromance, and we give our take on the writngs of Pegg, the performance of Frost and the direction of Wright.   Plus we play Tetris, read some comics, and ask "What's on the end of the stick, Vic?" You wouldn't let it lie! Thimble of Win Links: http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/puyo-puyo-tetris-switch https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/saga http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/vic-and-bob-back     *The Reverence Hotel in no way endorses this message. It's just a really nice pub in Footscray. You should go there. They do Mexican food.  

Our quarter-century of episodes brings us the dark and brooding masterpiece road trip that is American Gods. Your favourite weary travellers on TWBG Airways will be settling comfortably down into their upgraded-to-first-class-somehow seats, and will regale you with stories of gods old and new, and everything in between. Plus we bring you news of dragons, witchers, crystals, the law, and voyages beyond the stars.   Or should that be Starz...?   Links: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=19338 https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/17/15651956/the-witcher-tv-show-netflix-announced https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/may/11/judge-dredd-mega-city-one-set-to-dispense-tv-justice https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/18/15658270/the-dark-crystal-age-of-resistance-netflix-trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8mesUEFjas https://www.starz.com/series/americangods/episodes http://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/American+Gods/  

This week, your favourite geeksplorers Peach, Mario, and Bowser (we'll let you decide who's who) blow into the cartridge and press the reset button on a show all about Nintendo. As always, we look at the history of the company, our own formative experiences with a large variety of consoles and other platforms, and we hazard a guess as to where the future lies for the company.     Plus there's our Thimble of Win, where we talk about The Comedian's Comedian, dodgy Police, and a Post-Apocalyptic wasteland.   Just your average night in then.     Thimble of Win Links: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/horizon-zero-dawn-ps4/ http://store.steampowered.com/app/443810/agecheck http://www.comedianscomedian.com/  

This week, the foxy cats at TWBG are getting down, looking sharp, and getting ready for some hot action. Yes, we're talking about Sex in popular culture - whether it be improbable and badly rendered in video games, laughable British sex comedies, 80's teen movies or the free flopping wangs of modern medieval fantasy. Plus we go to town on Christian Gray, and not in a way he'd enjoy.   So slap on your shagging pants, throw the Barry White on the stereo, and get ready to get down...   Thimble of Win links: A Teen Girl's Guide To Getting Off: http://www.trenwickhouse.com.au/products/a-teen-girls-guide-to-getting-off Dead Rising 4: Frank Rising http://gematsu.com/2017/03/dead-rising-4-frank-rising-dlc-launches-april-4 Secret World Legends: https://secretworldlegends.com/   Main Section Link: https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/the-gloriously-stupid-history-of-sex-in-video-games    

LOAD "TWBG - RETRO GAMING"   SEARCHING...   This week, we dig out our horn-rimmed glasses, turtle-neck cardigans and brown slacks and go headlong into the world of Retro Gaming, looking back into consoles and computers, asterisks and arcades, joysticks and...other things beginning with J. We ask what is Retro, whether there is pleasure in simplicity, how important is playability (answer: very), and whether it's worth your while going any further than Championship Manager 01/02 if your looking for a football management game.   Plus our thimble of win involves naked Japanese men, grizzled cowboys and a madman in a box.   BREAK   Thimble of Win Links: http://yakuza.sega.com/yakuza0/ www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006q2x0  

Sequels. Love, loathe or detest them, if you love cinema, then you can't avoid them. But how to categorise them? What makes a sequel worth your time? In the first of a new occasional feature, your favourite geeks play Judge Judy and Executioner to a host of follow-ups, deciding upon their worthiness and giving our criteria and whimsical judgements for doing so, choosing which go where we don't need roads, and which are subject to death by exile.   Plus in our Thimble of Win, there's the rise of the old ones (or is there?), the fall of a despicable troll, and several generations of British comedy in a variety of different formats.   This time, it's personal...   Thimble of Win links: http://www.thesecretworld.com/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/21/milo-yiannopoulos-rise-and-fall-shallow-actor-bad-guy-hate-speech https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUuMcd6OAioA_6t2OPttHCw http://www.apollotheatrecompany.com/current-productions.html  

Choose Geek. Choose a hobby. Choose a comic book shop. Choose a nerd family. Choose a flat screen television with Netflix, choose a console, gaming machines, Spotify and sonic screwdrivers. Choose questionable health, pizza and insurance for your collection of collectibles. Choose Lootcrate payments. Choose a share-house. Choose your guild. Choose cutesy t-shirts with fucking unicorns impaling people. Chose a gaming chair covered in retro Nintendo controller cushions. Choose cosplay and LARP, wandering around DIY stores looking for supplies on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting in that gaming chair, arguing with twelve-year-olds in Idaho about being a fucking camper. Choose feeling bemused on the third day of the convention, unsure about which panels you’ve been to and whether your kid’s anime/Star Wars crossover costume is going to work or not. Choose you future. Choose Geek.   This week is all about Trainspotting. We look into the origins of the 1996 film, discussing the works of Irvine Welsh, and what we're

This week, our geekbrarians look sternly over their glasses, tell you to shush, and go back to pushing their book trolley around the shelves, as we bring you some of our favourite examples in the first of an occasional series delving into geek books. We wrangle with minds, drones, and dubiously named ships, we offer ourselves as tribute, and we make sure we always know where our towels are.   Plus our Thimble of Win features heads in boxes, questionable dubbing and unholy alliances between demons and angels.   Thimble of Win Links: http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3420411/writer-andrew-kevin-walker-shares-never-seen-first-draft-se7en/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XziLNeFm1ok https://www.theguardian.com/books/tvandradioblog/2016/apr/15/good-omens-neil-gaiman-to-adapt-terry-pratchett-collaboration-for-tv   Other Links: http://www.thehungergames.co.uk/the-books/ http://www.douglasadams.com/ http://www.iain-banks.net/science-fiction/  

This week, your Consulting Geek Detectives grab their pipes, stuff on their deerstalkers and stride around purposefully holding their magnifying glasses as we investigate Fan Theories. We look at witches and murderers, hospitals and snowglobes, implanted memories, watchers and secret agents, implausible hoaxes and drowning swimmers in our quest for cultural enlightenment. Plus our Thimble of Win focuses on taciturn Canadians and unreliable narrators.   The game is afoot!   Thimble of Win Links: http://www.letterkenny.tv/ http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317741/the-princess-diarist-by-carrie-fisher/9780399173592/ https://penguin.com.au/books/the-girl-on-the-train-9781784161750   Fan Theory Links: https://thetommywestphall.wordpress.com/about/ http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Blair-Witch-Project-Ending-Who-Actually-Did-Killing-70180.html https://www.inverse.com/article/6655-fan-theory-101-did-kubrick-admit-to-faking-the-moon-landing-in-the-shining https://www.overthinkingit.com/2009/11/25/total-recall-

This week, we conduct a raid into the vaults of the Geekservatoire to bring you the very finest masterworks from the great composers, from Clint Mansell to Trent Reznor, from Mick Gordon to Bill Elm & Woody Jackson, from Rob Hubbard all the way to...Michael Jackson?   We look at some of our favourite examples of the genre, from Space Invaders to the present day, discussing the form, the technology involved and some of the side projects that the music has inspired.   Plus there's our regular Thimble of Win. Player One has entered the game.   Thimble of Win Links: http://www.pcgamer.com/elite-dangerous-aliens/ http://www.xbox.com/en-AU/games/dead-rising-4 https://www.amazon.com/Touching-Distance-Entertainers-Newcastles-Impossible/dp/1909245259 Music Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqwlX8WGSFM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFYzjU-C3mA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KllQP2lcURY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX-Ixb0sy4E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yag41F7eCLU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf