Rifftrax (2006)

Rifftrax
Created by Michael J. Nelson

A Rifftrax is a comedy audio commentary track. You sync up the commentary track with the movie and as the movie plays, you get jokes that go in time with the movie.











What can I say other than enjoy the videos and have a laugh.

To find more to to www.rifftrax.com

Spider-Man (2002)

Spider-Man (2002)
Directed by Sam Raimi
Written by David Koepp

My introduction to Spider-Man was not through the comic books but through the animated series that was on from 1994 but still, when I heard that there was going to be a movie by the guy that did the Evil Dead movies, I was interested to say the least but I still waited for the movie to come out on DVD.



What can I say about Spider-Man other than the rifftrax that you can get for the movie is hillarious and makes the movie more that the light comedy and action to just a full blown comedy.



But overall, the movie's good with both a good villian and a good first step for the trilogy (Not counting the remake here)

Ultimate Spider-Man (2000 - 2009 - Present)

Ultimate Spider-Man (2000 - Present)
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Pencillers: Mark Bagley (Issue 1 - Issue 111, USM Requiem) , Stuart Immonen (Issue 111 - Issue 133, USM Requiem) and currently David Lafuente and Takeshi Miyazawa.

I found Ultimate Spider-Man sitting in a local newsagents and I had some spare change so I bought it and not only did I like the artwork I liked the storytelling. At the time I was the same age as the character in the strip and I was the social outcast that Peter Parker was in the strip without the cool spider powers.



This comic book is if you take away all the fancy terms and the backstory that this series has created it comes down to something simple. It's a reimagining of The Amazing Spider-Man by ditching The Amazing Spider-Man's history and starting again on Day 1 Page 1 and starting again, utilising that backlog of stories but giving them a modern twist where you can have all sorts of interesting stories.



With stories happening inside Ultimate Spider-Man also having serious blows to the rest of the Ultimate Universe which contains Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four and also The Ultimate's Universe version of the Avengers known as The Ultimates.

Star Wars - Episode IV - Revisited (2007)

Star Wars - Episode IV - Revisited (2007)
Written by George Lucas
Directed by George Lucas
Revisited by Adywan

This version of Star Wars is the version that should have been released in 1997 or in 2004. Adywan went through the special editions that were released in 2004 and improved the special effects in some scenes, removed the special effects in others, restoring them back to the original edition of the movie and in my opinion generally making a far more enjoyable version of Star Wars A New Hope.





While this movie is also an inspiration. It also motivates me to try and give my projects the glossyness of this version of Star Wars A New Hope.

Star Wars (1977)

Star Wars (1977)
Written and Directed by George Lucas

I don't know when I first saw Star Wars all I know is that I liked it to keep watching it again and again and again and again. I loved watching it for the thrill of watching X-Wings and Tie Fighters duking it out over the surface of the Death Star. As the first caption tells you, It's Along Time Ago, In A Galaxy, Far, Far away...

A Star Wars Deleted Scene
The Original Jabba the Hutt Scene

A Star Wars Deleted Scene
Luke & Biggs

Although, George Lucas has never been happy with the original cut of Star Wars, it doesn't stop him going back and adding things, taking things out, making Han Solo Shoot SECOND!!! (Fury!!!) but still, some people like to see the original.

A Star Wars Special Edition Scene
The Jabba the Hutt Scene

Still there's another version of Star Wars: Episode 4: A New Hope I like which I'll talk about next.

Stargate SG-1 (1997)

Stargate SG-1 (1997 - 2007)
Created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner

Stargate SG-1 is the adaptation of the movie Stargate. For Ten Years it had entertained the Sci-Fi world with numerous quips from most of the cast, stories that were both full of action and character points generally the atmosphere that of fun with both seriousness and comedy stuck together as shown with the below clip with two of the characters stuck in a time loop and they have to find a way to break out of it.



Stargate SG-1 has also had a string of successful spin-offs in Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe which I'll talk about later.



The best bits of SG-1 is when it gives small bursts of humor and still continues with the seriousness.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Star Trek: First Contact
Directed by Jonathan Frakes

Star Trek again but with a good reason, with this and Wrath of Khan and the latest J.J. Abrams movie, these make up some of the best Star Trek movies (personally). What makes Star Trek: First Contact a good movie. It's more of the action, the personal turmoil for Picard dealing with his mortal enemy, The Borg.

The best cliffhanger in any Star Trek series
(Note: The Video above does not contain the proper cliffhanger. Originally it would have ended with Picard/Locutus's sentence ending and leaving a brilliant piece of music)

With each scene, the oppression of the Borg grows as they take more and more of the Enterprise, it's once brightly lit interiors are turned dark and against the crew, driving Picard to more dangerous lengths to defeat the Borg, with a total outsider to the crew of the Enterprise, giving a parallel to what's happening with Picard to Captain Ahab



With this movie there appeared to be hope for the future of Star Trek, yet a few Feature adventures later it looked as if it was flushed down the toilet with one movie where the tagline, "A Generaton's Final Journey Begins..." turned out to be more true than they would belive.

Heavy Rain (2010)

Heavy Rain (2010)
Directed by David Cage
Created by Quantic Dream

What can be said about Heavy Rain other than it's an example on how a game full of Quick Time Events can be fun with characters you care about and choices that really matter.

You play four characters, Ethan, Norman, Madison and Scott. Each one of them have a problem, Scott, searching for a killer, Madison dealing with insomnia, Norman dealing with substance abuse and Ethan who's son's been kidnapped by the mysterious Origami Killer with the killer being a surprise to say the least when you think about a plot hole that's pretty obvious.



It's the sort of game with such plotting where if you make one mistake it doesn't result in a game over. Even the death of a character doesn't damage how the game ends. If you make too many mistakes you'll not get certain things that will progress the plot as with a recent playthrough where I failed at something, accused a character in the game and got told in no uncertain terms at how stupid that choice was but luckily enough, with another character I was able to make sure that everyone was still alive by the end, except for the killer.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1978)

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1978 to Present)
Created and Written by Douglas Adams

With every version of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it begins with the demolition of one man's house. This man is Arthur Dent, our view into this world of strange occurances, Mice who are Pan-Dimensional Beings and the Number 42 to which is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything.



One of the best parts of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy happens to be Marvin, the Paranoid Android who's really just depressed.



With each version of the Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy (Availible as Book, Audio Drama, TV Series, Movie, Game and Towel) there have been major differences with each version especially the towel that happens to go all runny when you use it. So with each version of the story having parts that don't appear anywhere else the best thing to do is to follow Slartibartfarst's suggestion. Just get on with life.

Star Trek TOS (1963)

Star Trek (1966 - Present)
Created by Gene Roddenberry

Star Trek has always been a part of my life, those words in the title sequence have always given me a slight chill whenever I hear them. Star Trek was the bigger budget that Doctor Who had dreamed of but still the two series were quite different. With a Captain that you didn't know whether to punch or to Cheer for. Gene Roddenberry's Utopia dream was well realised.



With interesting vistas and dreams of a peaceful future, Star Trek was considered the Be-All and End-All of science fiction television but then again if it was then we wouldn't have shows such as The Original and Remake of Battlestar Galatica, the deep Babylon 5 and shows such as Stargate SG-1

Star Trek even created fan films such as the very famous Star Trek Phase 2 which was nominated for a Hugo Award.

The Thing (1982)

The Thing (1982)
Directed by John Carpenter

The Thing, I like it because of it's claustrophobic atmosphere. A few people stuck together, with no-one to trust. It's atmosphere is what I would like to try and duplicate with Earth, specifically Leviathan afterall. That series focuses on a hundered or so people on a spaceship, with no-one else to talk to.



While it's a gory picture, it's more about who can you really trust when you don't know exactly who. It's a great picture with a great ending. Two men, left alone, no idea who to trust.

Afterworld (2007)

Afterworld (2007 to Present)
Created by Brent V. Friedman and Michael DeCourcey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy9v7etZG74 - The First Episode

Afterworld starts with a simple thing, What if 99% of the population disappeared. Focusing on the life of Russell Shoemaker who's in New York City to pitch something to clients yet on the day of the pitch, there's no-one around and he's stuck in New York City with 3000 Miles to get back home in Seattle.

This series has a depth that I would like to have with Earth, focusing on Characters in different locations where each place has a different story that effects the main story.

The series can be found at Channel 4, just look for Afterworld (The site's down when I typed this up) or you can watch the episodes that are availible on YouTube.

Fringe (2008)

Fringe (2008 - Present)
Created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Curtzman and Roberto Orci

What can I say about Fringe other than Walter Bishop. He is the soul of the show with his strange point of views and generally startling revelations. While Walter isn't the only character in the series I just wanted to get out of the way the fact that I think his character is the best in the series.



One of the things that stands out with Fringe is not that Walter's ramblings but The Observers. In every episode, you can find in the background a bald man, watching from the sidelines or ins a few episodes, in the think of things.







So, that's how Fringe Inspire's me. Because It's got more to it than on the surface level. For more information about background information with fringe can be found here. I would deffinately recommend looking up the Symbols.

http://fringepedia.net/wiki/Main_Page

Warehouse 13 (2009)

Warehouse 13
Created by Jane Espenson and D. Brent Mote

What is Warehouse 13? Warehouse 13 is the home of unique items that have supernatural powers and generally considered dangerous. So if it's Houdini's Wallet, Ben Franklin's Lightning Rod or even Freddy Mercury's Mustash and Tights it'll be in the warehouse somewhere. If it hasn't been used for something else.

The series is generally placed between the Spring and Autumn Television seasons in America so with an average series length of 12-13 episodes it's short compaired to American Series but is still good, with characters, situations and items providing closure to a plotpoint or starting one.

It's cast is rich and full, with one of the actors, Saul Rubinek, being one of the choices if I could ever get a dream cast for Earth for the role of Quinn, Leviathan's Chief Engineer with a mysterious background as an Archivist. (Don't ask about the Archivists. It's a plot point. That's all that you need to know for now.)

Crimson Dark (2006)

Crimson Dark (2006 - Present)
Created by David C. Simon

I came across Crimson Dark, halfway through one of it's many chapter and when I began reading it it was instantly hooked. It's visual style was one of the things that caught my attention, second was the story. I cared about the characters as they progressed through the story.

What can I say about Crimson Dark? Read it yourself and you'll find something you'll like. If I could compare it with anything in the world I'd probably have to compare it to Serenity and it's original series, Firelfy but as J. Michael Strazinski said the moment you compare it to something you've lost the argument or something like that. I'm guessing he didn't like to compare things.

Here's a link to the website where you can read from the beginning.
http://www.davidcsimon.com/crimsondark/index.php?view=comic&strip_id=1

Sanctuary (2007)

Sanctuary (2007 - Present Day)
Created by Damien Kindler

I don't have much knowledge on what goes on in the series other than it involves the supernatural and has a link to the Jack The Ripper crimes but other than that not a clue. So What Can I say about a series I have very little knowlege about other than it started on the Internet. I guess I'll start there.

When Sanctuary began it was to be a web based series that the viewer can pay for and watch and the money would go straight back into making more episodes. There have been a recent trend with online series doing this but Sanctuary stands out to me as one of the few that made the leap from Internet to Television with the SciFi Channel purchesing the rights to the series and then turning it into a very successful franchise for them.

What inspires me and motivates me with this is that created the world with CGI, giving the set designers and creators two reasons. One the sets have to be good enought to stand up on TV but also have the double purpose of being locations in a possible fourthcoming game.

Half-Life 2 (2004)

Half-Life 2 (2004)
Created by Valve Corporation

What can I say about the mysterious journey of Gordon Freeman. A Physicist with a surprising apditute with guns. Still, with it's unique way of telling a story through scripted sequences instead of cutscenes goes tell the story. With most of the game spent alone, these scripted sequences stand out far more than the suddeny switch to a cut scene.



There is also a lot of verstability with the game's engine which has created a series of machinema and even webcomics which I'll talk about later.

Portal (2007)

Portal (2007)
Created by Valve Corporation

The Cake is a Lie, or so says the graffiti on the walls in the sections of the Enrichment Center that your not suppose to be in. This game was and still is entertaining, with it's black humor from GlaDOS and its mind bending technology of Portals.

While the design of the levels and the puzzles with portals gives a new twist to the style of game it is none the less very good. What can I say inspired me was the quality of the writing with only one person talking to you and you having no way to respond.

Doctor Who (1963 - Present)

Doctor Who (1963 - Present)
Created by Sidney Newman and Verity Lambert

Let's get down to brass tacks. I love Doctor Who. I just do. It's a series that has literally no boundaries. If the main actor doesn't want to continue? No problem, you can recast the actor because the character has the little trick of Regeneration where he can change everything about himself.



Still, it's the stories, focusing on characters and situations is the key to Doctor Who, not flashy effects as proven back during The Classic Series where big budgets were the dreams of the producers yet they were able to make some of the most effective special effects with some sticky back plastic (nicked from Blue Peter) and made it one of the most threatening monsters at the time.



With Doctor No. 11 waiting in the wings, the future still looks bright for this Nearly 50 Year Old TV Series.

Red Dwarf (1988 - Present)

Red Dwarf (1988 - Present Day)
Created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor

I love this series for the characters. Lister, the last human who is basically a slob. Rimmer, A holographic representation of his bunk mate who has more problems with himself than stars in the sky. Cat, a creature that has evolved from the common house-hold cat and has more interest in making himself look good. Kryten, a mechanoid who's guilt chip which is constantly stuck on eleven. Each of these characters make up the core of Red Dwarf and have been bringing humor to those that have watched the series since it's beginning.



The stories themselves have been character pieces and even when they go for the full on "PLOT!" stories it has still been an enjoyable viewing. Overall I can't really define why I like it other than it's funny and it resonates well with what I like.

Serenity (2005)

Serenity (2005)
Directed by Joss Whedon

I had no idea what Firefly was when Serenity came out, other than it was the previous series that was the background to this movie. So I had no idea who anyone was, why they were on this ship and generally the making of the universe but the director and writer, both Joss Whedon made sure about explaining how things came together and then you learn about the crew as they get ready for their "Job" which as you can tell by the trailer, involves guns, shooting and robbing a bank.

The designs of the ship and the enevitable battle against the all knowing "Empire" and the "Crazies" is also a good high point but this story is also full of wonderful character points such as River's story which we learn what happened to her and how her brother just want's to keep her safe, again, after watching the trailer you can guess she can more that take care of her self and a room full of angry, knife weilding people.

Still, this is a wonderful mix of character and action, with the designs of a lived in universe that helped with the design of the lived in and broken down part of Earth.

Titanic (1997)

Titanic (1997)
Directed by James Cameron

When this movie came out I didn't care about the Jack & Rose love story, I cared about the ship itself and how they would do the sinking because at that time I was gripped by Titanic Fever, a desire to know everything about the ship and what happened to cause the sinking of what was considered and unsinkable ship.

Yet as I watch it now, the Jack & Rose love story is a very large part to the sinking of the ship, it's as if the world doesn't want these two lovers to even be together. Also, if you think about it, Rose made damn sure that Jack wouldn't be there at the end if she just stayed on the damned lifeboat. If she did then Jack could have had the big door all to himself and the two of them could go off into the sunset.

Still, to me, the inspiration is the camera work and how it covers the end of the maiden voyage of this ship and how the disaster is rendered on celluloid. I'll go into depth later about how it's influenced certain scenes in "Earth"

Avatar (2009)

Link to Avatar Trailer

Avatar (2009)
Directed by James Cameron

Avatar burst onto the big screen last year and has greatly influenced the development of "Earth" With it's design elements and the creation of the organic Na'vi and the cold and technical Humans. both dealing with conflict over resources on the planet known as Pandora.

The visual detail that's been put into everything is both surprising and inspiring at the same time, each character has a backstory that can be explored and will be, with James Cameron writing a prequel book that shows how the characters, both Human and Na'vi reach their starting points in the movie.

I guess the part that's important to me is how the action scene at the end, when both Humans and Na'vi battle for the planet, where you care about who wins and who looses. Another reason is that it looks cool.

This isn't the last apperance of James Cameron's work here. ;)