Yes, But Who Owns the Copyright, If Anyone?

There is considerable discussion of who owns the copyright to such images but for the most part the IP lawyers either ignore the fact that the AI’s cannot generate output without specific human guidance, or that AI is already everywhere in art creation tools like Photoshop, Ableton, and even Google Docs but that nobody questions the authorship of work made with those tools simply on the basis of the tools themselves.

To use the Photoshop analogy again, it is obviously possibly to load a copyrighted image into Photoshop, make a small change to it, and then save that image back out as a new image, and still violate the copyright of the original artist. And yet, even here it is not the tool at fault, but the user.

Some of these IP lawyers are just reading back disclaimers made by the tools’ creators into their public statements. They are looking for a note of authority — any authority — that they can cite on the subject, and then rattle off a series of follow-on statements as though the source of their musings was a valid one. I would keep in mind that lawyers are always reading these things the way they would when preparing for court with a potential client, and they frequently don’t care which side of the question they fall on so long as they might get paid. It’s reflexive. They can’t help it.

It doesn’t help that in general, the law suits against software publishers like Stability AI, the creators of Stable Diffusion, grossly mischaracterize the operation of the software. Yet, they proceed with the suit hoping that the court, in its ignorance, will simply take their word on how it works. It’s a “throw it against the wall and see what sticks” approach.

It’s going to be a complicated battle. First, the plaintiffs are in different countries. LAION, the creators of the LAION dataset upon which Stable Diffusion, Dall-E, Midjourney and others are based, is in Munich, Germany.

OpenAI, the company responsible for Dall-E, is also located in Munich, but Stability AI, the company who makes Stable Diffusion (subsequently releasing the code as open source) is based in London. Getty Images, the company sueing them both, is based in the United States. International copyright law is in play here, and each country has some version of the Fair Use doctrine. Which country’s laws should apply for each part of this case is such a complex question that it may never be properly resolved.

LAION is a non-profit organisation that collects image-text pairs on the Internet. It then organises them into datasets based on factors such as language, resolution, likelihood of having a watermark and predicted aesthetic score, such as the Aesthetic Visual Analysis (AVA) dataset which contains photographs that have been rated from 1 to 10.

LAION gets these image-text pairs from another non-profit organisation called Common Crawl. Common Crawl provides open access to its repository of web crawl data, to democratise access to web information. It does this by scraping billions of web pages monthly and releasing them as openly available datasets.

Secondly, in order for there to be copyright infringement you actually have to copy something. While the LAION dataset does contain images, the Stable Diffusion project used the images but the resulting compiled datasets do not.

The fact that this suit is being fought in an international arena, where copyright law, already a complex landscape, is often murky and unstable as quicksand, suggests that it’s more about appearances than actually winning in court. Getty, a licensor of images, must create the impression that it is doing something constructive about the question of the legality of using research data for generating AI art to avoid exposure to litigation itself. It doesn’t have to actually win.

Faulty Assumptions

The biggest problem with the law suit against Stable Diffusion, Dall-E and Midjourney is that the plaintiffs declare the AIs to be “collage engines” and this isn’t how they work at all.

They can say that, but that doesn’t make it true.

In fact, 5 billion source images will simply not fit in a database file 8 billion bytes in size like the one Stable Diffusion uses. The images cannot possibly be simply stored and retrieved for pastiche in the way they assert, and that’s the foundation of their law suits. The claims of “illegal copying of copyrighted work” fail immediately on this point.

The Fair Use doctrine, regardless of which country’s version you use, is based on the initial premise of file copying or republication of the original images. In point of fact, the Fair Use doctrine, regardless of the country’s legal system applying it, allows copying for reference purposes, which is clearly what LAION was doing. In fact, not allowing the copying of images would break the internet. In order for web browsers to work at all, they must be allowed to make a digital copy of everything on a web page, even if that copy only exists in memory for a brief time. Typically, though, web browsers cache pages to make them faster to load the second time you visit, and it’s very difficult to turn this web browser feature off — so everybody, everybody copies Getty’s images for the purposes of viewing them. It all comes down to redistribution of those images, and apart from the reference purposes application, none of the defendants are actually doing this. Instead, the images are going through a process of loose emulation and are statistically never fully reproduced.

The Filing

The case involving Stability AI was filed in the District Court of Delaware, which is notorious for taking its sweet time about law suits in general. It might be six to nine months before the courts even examine the case to see whether there’s enough there to move forward. It will likely take several more years for the Getty Images case to get through discovery and summary judgment motions before trial.

Exactly what Getty hopes to accomplish isn’t clear. They’re not going to stop the tools from being used, nor put the genie back in the bottle. They might manage to extract some kind of expensive settlement or punitive judgement from Stability AI et al., bad enough to put them completely out of business as a worst case, but I envision few possible corrective measures apart from this.

The Getty case failing on the Fair Use question is frankly just as likely. Getty might be able to point out their watermark showing that their images might have been used, but Fair Use encompasses reference and research purposes very specifically. Getty may be picking a fight they can’t actually completely win. It’s a longshot, given the significant and specific carveout for Fair Use being applied here.

That said, most of the Getty complaint seems to pivot on the appearance of their watermarks on generated images, such that it damages their brand. They may have a point here, but one of the remedies they want is the destruction of all versions of the Stable Diffusion datasets that contain Getty Images content. There are few examples of actual copyright infringement in the initial filing, and you’d think Getty would have done a more comprehensive job of adding these in, because they’re not allowed to make a fishing expedition out of this. Claiming copyright infringement on this order of magnitude is a substantial claim, and it would require substantial initial evidence, and Getty hasn’t got it. And to get it might require that Getty prove that their images can be reliably recreated from prompts, over billions of examples, and that does not sound practical.

It’s open source software, and it’s been released to the world, and will have likely been in distribution eight to ten years before a jury ever delivers a final judgement, so good luck with that. By that time, Stable Diffusion will be so ubiquitous it will have spawned half a dozen different open source versions, and will practically have soaked into the wallpaper. The best Getty can hope for is to put Stable AI out of business, but it won’t stop Stable Diffusion itself. The damage is done, and probably irreversible.

AI Art and Copyrights

It’s important to note here that discussions to the effect that the Copyright Office will not honor AI generated art are factually incorrect.

Despite popular misconception (explained in this article on The Verge), the US Copyright Office has not ruled against copyright on AI artworks. Instead, it ruled out copyright registered to an AI as the author instead of a human.

Zarya of the Dawn, which features a main character with an uncanny resemblance to the actress Zendaya, is available for free through the AI Comic Books website. AI artists often use celebrity names in their prompts to achieve consistency between images, since there are many celebrity photographs in the data set used to train Midjourney.

-30-

Gene Turnbow is President of Krypton Media Group, and the founder and station manager of SCIFI.radio. This article is written as a companion piece to David Raiklen’s article on SCIFI.radio, Is Your Software A Human? AI Art in a Human World.

The post AI Generated Art: Friend or Foe? appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

The script is powerful and unexpected. The three actors and sparse stage setting focuses your attention to the words and actions. The words and actions are so compelling and intriguing, I found myself never looking at my watch to see when would be the intermission or ending.
Content Warning – This production contains brief (1-2 minutes) nudity and some strobe effect elements. 

The Road Theatre is inside the Lankershim Arts Center, a small storefront in the heart of NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood/Los Angeles CA. I encourage you to come early to wander the art gallery downstairs and enjoy a drink from the refreshment bar which helps support the non-profit venue. The theater is upstairs with just 44 comfy seats and an elevator for those who can’t take the stairs. If you hang out in the gallery afterwards you may get the chance to meet the cast.

Link to Promo for DEATH HOUSE. Warning, there are spoilers, I watched it after I saw the play, gave deeper meaning https://vimeo.com/311526932

Performances will be held January 18-March 10 at The Road on Lankershim. Tickets prices are only $34, Students and Seniors $15, special group rates for 8+. For tickets call 818-761-8838 or visit The Road Theatre website

Special Post-Show Talkbacks
Sunday, January 27th – 2 PM – Cast & Crew
Sunday, February 10th – 2 PM – Jennifer Friedman
Sunday, March 3rd – 2 PM – John Cragen
Sunday, March 10th – 2 PM – Romarilyn Ralston
Sunday, March 17th – 2 PM – Cast & Crew

The post Why You Should Go See Sam Anderson’s new play “Death House”(spoiler-free review) appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

For the past few weeks, fans of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD have been trying to get any news on whether the show will return next season. When they see their favorite agents trying to find a way to keep the Earth from exploding and keep their leader Phil Coulson alive, some fear both will happen and that’ll end the show.

Just last month there was a rumor that a sixth season with 22 episodes was approved according to a “source“, and that it would return to Tuesday nights. Then, last weekend, MCU Cosmic said there was a chance 13 new episodes would air between the releases of Captain Marvel and Avengers 4. It was a way to feature Coulson on TV and in the movies when he appears in Captain Marvel.

Then, sometime Tuesday morning, ABC confirmed SHIELD will have a sixth season of 13 episodes. However, they’ll air in the summer, after Avengers 4.

Some fans will say the show’s not only demoted but it’ll get a shorter season.

ABC President Channing Dungey says it’s not a bad thing, (Editor – why do I hear Dr Horrible’s voice saying this?) arguing it may give the show a longer run.

It’s also true some shows that traditionally air in the summer like America’s Got Talent are quite popular, and the stigma of a “summer series” isn’t as negative as it used to be, mainly thanks to cable TV.

Still, some naysayers will say that Agents of SHIELD‘s end is near, starting as a fall show then “declining” to summer fare with fewer episodes.

The fans don’t care. As long as Coulson, May, Fitz-Simmons, Yo-Yo, Daisy and Mack are there, they can feel very secure about the MCU…even more so if the gang can keep Earth whole and Coulson alive this week.
Who knows? Maybe they can sneak into Avengers 4

Then again, maybe that movie is why they’re waiting until the summer of 2019. Trying to tell a story arc that has nothing to do with Thanos after mentioning him at least once earlier this month sounds like SHIELD exists in a parallel MCU. It may be better for SHIELD’s sixth season to be the events that happened while Avengers 4 played out.

So, what could season six be about?

In case you still haven’t seen Infinity War, please look away from the next paragraph…
Spoilers

Spoilers

Spoilers

Spoilers

Spoilers

Spoilers

A natural idea is that three of the agents, maybe four, disappear when Thanos snaps his fingers with the Infinity Guantlet. After all, if Nick Fury and Maria Hill dissolved when Thanos erases half of Creation to “fix things”, it also has to happen to SHIELD.

Fitz or Simmons will have to go (again), along with May and Mack. If the show wanted to get risky, Coulson can go, too. This will leave the survivors wondering what to do. Actually, any combo will do.

They’ll have to get some help. Lance Hunter can return while saying Bobbie Morse was “taken”. So could the “Candyman”, Tony Caine.

Again, if the show wants to add risk, it can reveal Ruby and Warner (the HYDRA kids) are alive again because the time loop problem was solved. They offer to “help” SHIELD, intending to double cross them because they’re evil….
….or not. If they both remember the old timeline where Ruby blew up and Werner was imploded thanks to gravitonium, maybe these kids will decide changing their ways would be better. Ruby and Daisy wind up friends after all, while Werner will get his “revenge” on SHIELD by being dangerous enough to be valuable to it. He’ll be like Grant Ward, except he double crosses the bad guys who raised him.  So does Ruby.

Maybe we learn those who were dissolved just went to another dimension (maybe the Soul Stone), and will spend half the season to get out. This would work if Coulson is affected by Thanos.

Eventually everyone is back for the two-hour finale, and it’s game on.  Maybe it will end with Captain America and Iron Man finding out Coulson is alive. That should happen in the movies and TV.

After that, who knows? If the summer is a better season for SHIELD, it can go into any direction. It might even go back to the Triskelion in D.C. Maybe they’ll bring Peggy Carter back, or show how she officially got SHIELD off the ground 60 years ago.

At the very least, this won’t be “the end” for SHIELD after Friday’s season finale. It will fight another day, although the next battle will be a tough one.

The post Agents of SHIELD Will Return…. In 13 Months: What Does It Mean? appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

The heat continues to rise as big names in Hollywood are scheduled to attend “Halloween Hotness 4”.  This annual inspirational charity event benefits two fantastic causes in St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital & The National Canine Cancer Foundation.  The venue is the American Legion Hollywood Post 43 whose hallowed halls were once graced by such stars such as: Marilyn Monroe, Abbott & Costello, Shirley Temple, and thousands more.  This is the same venue that the fan group TheOneRing.net has held their Lord of the Rings Emmy parties.  By holding the event at the American Legion Hollywood, Halloween Hotness also benefits our troops, veterans, and their families.
Brian Sikoff, the organizer for Halloween Hotness told Whedonopolis that, “the tremendous impact of Halloween Hotness has brought out the Hollywood elite again and again for a truly benevolent cause. The proceeds from the Halloween Hotness’ in years past have helped advance the battle against cancer and brought us a few steps closer to eliminate it once and for all.”

Of the special guests confirmed at this time includes fan-favorites who have supported Fandom Charities and WhedonCon fan charity events are Steven L. Sears (Xena/Producer, Writer) and Gigi Edgley (Farscape/Actor and host of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge).  The event will include: Red Carpet with special guest celebrities, Fashion Show, Live Music, DJ, Costume Contest, Lip Sync Battle, Live Auctions, and more.  Costumes/Cosplay are encouraged but not required.

Additional Halloween Hotness information: Website   Facebook   Tickets & Donations

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https://youtu.be/5NlmYes7aU8

A few others, though, kind of wish Emma Thompson was chosen. She’d do it, according to some interviews from 2013.

But, was this inevitable? Maybe this bold move was suggested by the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, when he announced he was leaving.

In page 162 and 163 of Doctor Who: A Celebration, Baker announced he was leaving in October 1980. Just before the press conference, Baker suggested to then-producer John Nathan-Turner that he hint to the press the Fifth Doctor could be a woman. Sure enough, he said to the press, “I would just like to add that I wish the new Doctor, whoever he or she is, the best of luck.”

Naturally, Nathan-Turner rode with this for a while until Peter Davison got the job.

Thing is, Nathan-Turner also said in this book that “(But) let me say that there was never a chance then–nor do I think there will ever be–that the Doctor could be played by a woman”

Well, 37 years later, new showrunner Chris Chibnall (who had worked with Whittaker in Broadchurch) thinks otherwise. He made the decision to make a Time Lord a Time Lady.

However, there may have been other signs.

In 1986, show creator Sydney Newman suggested that number seven should be a woman, after he temporarily changes back to his second form (Patrick Troughton). That would have been an unusual transition, almost like Clara getting a call from Eleven (Matt Smith) to tell her to give Twelve a chance to settle into his new form. Some of the female candidates included comedian Dawn French, and Joanna Lumley (who was the Doctor in a 1999 charity spoof called The Curse of Fatal Death). Eventually, Sylvester McCoy was picked.

As late as 2005, showrunner Russell T. Davies thought maybe Catherine Zeta Jones could follow David Tennant. Matt Smith got the job instead.

Maybe the biggest sign that maybe a woman could be the Doctor actually comes from, of all people, the Master.

When Missy (Michelle Gomez) showed up at the start of the 2014 season, she appeared as a mysterious and suspicious woman. When it was revealed she was really the Master, minds were blown. This past season, she actually made some effort to do what the real Doctor does. It would have been wild if 13 looked just like Missy, as Twelve (Peter Capaldi) looked like Caecilius in “The Fires of Pompeii”. 

Then there’s this scene from “Hell Bent” last year:

A Time Lord goes from male to female, and was grateful about it, would be a good argument for having a female Time Lord.

Come to think of it, when Romana was with Four (Tom Baker) in the late 70s, she sometimes dressed like him, and even had her own sonic screwdriver. 

The last word, though, should come from Whittaker:

“I want to tell the fans not to be scared by my gender. Because this is a really exciting time, and Doctor Who represents everything that’s exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one.”

Come to think of it, she does look a little like Davison, who made history of his own as the first youthful Doctor.

So, let’s give our support to Jodie Whittaker and a new era of Doctor Who.

The post A Female 13th Doctor: Why This May Have Been Inevitable appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

The recent success of Wonder Woman aside, the DC Universe has been in a dire situation for the last few years.  Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad were critical failures for the most part, and audiences had their fair share of criticisms of the films, as well.  Many people also questioned the lack of publicity for Wonder Woman going into the release.  Audience and critic response to Wonder Woman helped the film soar in the box office, and the DC Universe will look to continue on that success with the upcoming Justice League film.

Fans of Joss Whedon were thrilled in March when it was announced that he would be directing a standalone Batgirl film, and after Zack Snyder had to step away from Justice League due to a family tragedy, it seems that the future of the DC Universe rests even more on the  Joss’ shoulders now.  The success of Justice League could set the tone of the DC Universe for years to come, and with the critical and box office success of Wonder Woman, this could put the DC Universe in a much more competitive place against the Marvel films than ever before.

DC Films executives have already hinted that Joss could be a major player in the DC Universe for years to come.

How do you think he will handle the challenges of being a leading creative force in the DC Universe?  Comment below!

The post Joss Whedon’s Expanding Role in the DC Universe appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Photos provided by Marvel Universe LIVE!

Get a sneak peek at what we might get in Avengers: Infinity Wars at the Marvel Universe LIVE!: Age of Heroes stunt show, which brings the Avengers, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy together to fight Loki. And, you can see it at a discounted price!

Groupon is currently offering tickets as much as 31% off the regular pricing!

Photos provided by Marvel Universe LIVE!

“Marvel fans, assemble for this live, action-packed battle to defend the universe from evil. This all new show unites Spider-Man, the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy and Doctor Strange in a race against time to recover the Wand of Watoomb before Loki gains control. This ancient artifact would allow Loki to achieve his eternal quest to crown himself ruler of the universe. Witness the cutting-edge special effects and immersive video projection in this legendary, live adventure. © 2017 MARVEL”

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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Warner Archive Collection bring the hit series Lucifer: The Complete Second Season to DVD & Blu-ray on August 22, 2017.

The DVD and Blu-ray have all 18 season 2 episodes and special features including the gag-reel, deleted scenes, a featurette called “Reinventing Lucifer in the City of Angels” and the show’s 2016 Comic-Con panel.

“In Season Two, Lucifer Morningstar and LAPD Detective Chloe Decker are back solving murders on L.A.’s white-hot streets, with their relationship growing deeper, closer, and more awkward for them both. To add fuel to the fire, Lucifer’s mum, Charlotte, escapes Hell, bringing along a ton of emotional baggage: Now Lucifer and his angel brother, Amenadiel — with whom Lucifer has serious sibling issues — must work together to deal with mommy dearest. Meanwhile, Dr. Linda, therapist and confidante to Lucifer, Amenadiel and Maze, is having a devil of a time doling out some of the most bizarre advice ever. Tensions (including the sexual kind) are sizzling in all 18 frighteningly fun, frivolous adventures. Welcome to Devil time!”

“From powerhouse producers Jerry Bruckheimer Television, we are excited to heat up your home entertainment centers with the next installment of the critically acclaimed series,” said Rosemary Markson, WBHE Senior Vice President, Television Marketing. “Just in time for the third season premiere on FOX, loyal Lucifer fans can indulge on all hell-bent moments from the second season and hellacious extras.”

Can’t wait until August to get catch up with this little devil? Well, you’re in luck. The Digital HD version is available now from various digital retailers, including Amazon Video, CinemaNow, iTunes, PlayStation, Vudu, Xbox and others.

The post Lucifer: The Complete Second Season Coming to DVD & Blu-ray appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Both the title and tagline are the result of a fan-sourced social initiative launched this past April. Using an interactive bot, fan were invited to submit their most creative and outrageous ideas.

“In SHARKNADO 5: GLOBAL SWARMING, the mission gets personal for Fin Shepard (Ian Ziering) and his bionic wife, April (Tara Reid) when their young son gets trapped in a traveling ‘nado and transported all over the world. From London to Rio, Tokyo, Rome, Amsterdam and beyond, our globetrotting heroes will seek assistance from a highly-skilled squad of royals, scholars and Olympians, enlisting famous faces from news, entertainment, and sports in their most epic battle yet.”

As with the previous movies, aside from returning stars Ian Ziering and Tara Reid, Sharknado 5: Global Swarming,  will include multiple celebrity guest appearances. And they have the potential to be amazing!  The announced cameos include, Fabio (as the Pope), Tony Hawk, Clay Aiken, Olivia Newton-John and her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, Bret Michaels, Margaret Cho, Charo (as the Queen of England), Gilbert Godfried, Al Roker, Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb, Olympic Gold Medalist Greg Louganis, Tom Daley, Gus Kenworthy, Jeff Rossen, Porsha Williams, Tiffany “New York” Pollard, Chris Kattan (as the Prime Minister of England), Cat Greenleaf, Dan Fogler and Ross Mullan, with many more to come.

Sharknado 5: Global Swarming splashes on to our screens August 6th.

The post Sharknado 5 Title Revealed appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

1.  Tatiana Maslany returns as Sarah and her sister clones, along with: fan favorite Evelyne Brochu as Delphine (who we missed desperately last season), Jordan Gavaris, Ari Millen, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Skyler Wexler, Kevin Hanchard, Kristian Bruun and Josh Vokey.
2. The season will consist of 10 episodes and will wrap up all loose ends on the show.
3. Why just five seasons?  Creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett said they had five as a goal in mind from the beginning and they wanted to avoid a decline in quality of the show.  I think that’s certainly commendable and something they have accomplished.  The show continues to receive critical acclaim and I can’t see what the creators have in store to wrap up the show!

The final season is set to premiere Sunday, June 10th, at 10:00 pm.

Watch the final season trailer below!

The post Things to Know About Orphan Black’s Final Season appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

The Whedonverse connection to the show is none other than Felicia Day. She’ll play Kinga Forrester, who wants to be just as evil as her dad and grandmother. She wants to continue the tradition of driving some guy nuts by showing him terrible movies, and make it profitable somehow. Felicia’s come a long way from being a Potential on Buffy, the gal behind The Guild, and part of Dollhouse, Eureka and Supernatural.

Her henchman is TV’s Son of TV’s Frank, played by Patton Oswalt. He appeared in two episodes of Dollhouse and also wrote a special Serenity one-shot ,”Float Out,” for Dark Horse.

Now the show is known for unearthing really bad movies, even some that TV stations used to show late at night until cable took over and paid programming was invented. However, what if, in an unusual series of events, Jonah, Servo and Crow riffed a certain movie from 1992 about a cheerleader who’s told she was born to fight vampires?

Not only that, someone who DOES fight vampires shows up to give her blunt opinion about it?

I wrote some fan fiction that has Buffy mock the 1992 version of her, with help from Xander and Willow. Jonah and the bots eventually get their shot, and I even have Joss make a cameo by delivering a Trump joke.

The project is also too long for this website, so here’s a link to the MST episode that will never happen.

Here’s a few samples of how Buffy and her Scooby Gang would riff on this movie:

Again, here’s the link to the MST3K/Buffy crossover. It may never happen, not even in the Framework world, but wouldn’t it be cool if it did?

The post What if….. Buffy Riffed on “Buffy” on MST3K? appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Let me start out by saying NBC’s Emerald City is a Keeper and here is why.

This reinterpretation of the Wizard of Oz is set up in many different layers within the two hour premiere.  The creators have developed an overarching culture where magic and science is at odds, and where The Wizard (played by Vincent D’Onofrio) controls the Emerald City and is who the witches overtly are subjected to.  Enter Dorothy,  who changes the power struggle within Oz by no fault of her own.  She is placed in the central position of power that she doesn’t even know exists. We have seen in the promos of this season that war is coming to Oz and I believe it is a war between the witches and their magic against The Wizard and his science.

Familiar stories begin yet again in a  way that compels me to to keep watching.  The Lion, the Scarecrow and even the Tin man have shown up re-imagined.  The imagery and background is beautiful, the story very compelling.  If The Emerald City can continue the traction it began with, the show will be a fun ride.  As I said at the beginning, for Keifer, it’s a Keeper!  

The post Keifer’s Keep It or Dump It – Emerald City appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Keifer Knight

The post “Keifer’s Keep It or Dump It” – BEYOND appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Hulu Returns as Official Media Partner; Citi Returns as the Official Card of PaleyFest.  As official media sponsor of PaleyFest, Hulu will be the exclusive streaming home to a selection of clips and the full-length discussions from the festival. Subscribers can view footage from the event by visiting hulu.com/paleyfest.

The Paley Center for Media’s PaleyFest, with annual festivals in both Los Angeles and New York City, has become a destination event for the worldwide community of television fans. The Festival benefits the Paley Center’s preservation and archival digitization efforts, and its ongoing mission to explore the significant impact of media on our culture and society. The Paley Center is home to one of the nation’s foremost publicly accessible archives of television and radio content, over 160,000 programs spanning the history of media including the recently launched African-American, Hispanic, and LGBT collections.

Citi returns as the official card of PaleyFest, offering its card members special pre-sale access to tickets. Paley Center Supporting and Patron Members and Citi card members can purchase pre-sale tickets beginning January 9, 2017 at 9:00 am PT. Tickets go on sale for Paley Center Individual Members on January 11, 2017 at 9:00 am PT, and to the general public on January 12, 2017 at 9:00am PT. To purchase tickets, please visit paleyfest.org or download the Paley App at paley.me/app.

 visit paleycenter.org

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It’s been a few days since Ron Glass died at the age of 71. He was known to many as Detective Harris  on Barney Miller,  but to sci-fi fans he was the mysterious Shepherd Book on Firefly. Book had been living in an abbey and was wondering what to do next. A girl in a parasol suggested he take a ride in a space ship called Serenity and his life, her’s and the ship’s crew would never be the same.

When Ron died last weekend, many people tweeted their favorite Shepherd Book quotes, especially his final words to Mal in the movie Serenity.

I had seen Ron three times, at San Diego Comic-Con, a Creation Con in Burbank in 2010, and the famous Browncoat Cruise to Cabo in 2007. I was able to find the three DVD set that cruise passengers got as a memento. The 2nd DVD had the big events, including concerts by Sonny Rhodes (who sang the Firefly theme song) and the Bedlam Bards.

It also had Glass being joined on a panel by Michael Fairman (Niska), Jonathan Woodward (Tracey in “The Message”) and Nectar Rose (Lenore in Serenity).

While watching the DVDs to prepare for this article, I wiped away a tear when I saw Ron at the panel, stunned that five years after the show had ended no one there asked him what he thought Book did before he became a shepherd. Actually, he had admitted he had no idea, and later Joss would finally provide Book with a past. That would eventually become the hardcover book The Shepherd’s Tale, which would be released in 2010. I shed another tear when I heard the fans cheer the announcement of the new story.

Ron talked about other things, such as giving Nathan Fillion the shirt off his back because Nathan asked (he apparently has that power), and an embarrassing moment that involved photos and a scary invite.  Then Ron read a question from someone who wondered why he would always talk about Firefly even if it was considered a flop. The answer was simple:  “There was something really powerfully special about the experience. And so, it was difficult to let it go, and you guys continue to make it very, very alive, and so, you know, we’re just happy to continue to participate in that experience with you guys.”

And that’s when he asked the cruise and con staff to come forward, so Jeremy Neish (who helped produce and direct the Firefly documentary Done the Impossible)  could call him Grandpa.. and then propose to his girlfriend.

More tears.

Why isn’t this panel on YouTube?

Well, at least there’s this video, which condenses the cruise to nine minutes and includes the proposal at the 6:54 mark.

Ron also mentioned a favorite moment from Barney Miller, when Harris had to go undercover as a woman… which meant shaving off his mustache. He mentioned the other men were impressed, while he responded he looked good, but didn’t want to look that good.  He also had comments about Lawrence Olivier as Othello, mainly the makeup.

It was a wonderful memory that was thankfully preserved on DVD. There’s already a Facebook page on the cruise, and likely also memories about Ron.

Ron had a small but key role in the first season of Agents of SHIELD.  In the pilot, he was Dr. Streiten, who helped send Phil Coulson to T.A.H.I.T.I after he died in The Avengers. He warned his staff never to tell Coulson was happened, but Coulson figured it out in “The Magical Place.”

Ron Glass will be missed by Whedonverse fans, Browncoats, and anyone else who enjoyed quality TV in the past 45 years.
If you wish to honor Ron Glass’ memory, he was very involved with The Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center in Los Angeles, CA, a nonprofit youth center which provides free after-school and low-cost summer programs for boys and girls in grades 3-12.

The post Tribute to Ron Glass appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Through an amazing case of coincidence, similar fear has been expressed on multiple TV series. The Walking Dead features a new kind of charming tyranny in the form of Negan, who uses wit and a bat wrapped in barbed wire to destroy the authority Rick Grimes used to have. At one point, a couple of people blame Rick for Negan’s rise.

Meanwhile, the town of Salem is terrorized by a ten year old version of Satan, who his mother Mary Sibley and the other Essex witches created because they thought he’d hand the town over to them. Once he decided he won’t, the witches want Mary to destroy him, which is much easier said than done. The show even adds a subplot about “refugees” and whether they should be trusted. Sebastian, who’s allied Li’l Satan,  is exploiting this situation in their hopes to create Hell on Earth.

The fear of “The Other” shows up on Agents of SHIELD.  Jeffrey Mace, the newest Director of SHIELD, doesn’t trust Inhumans including ex-agent Daisy Johnson, even though he’s an Inhuman. He has the support (blackmail?) of Senator Ellen Nadeer, who doesn’t like Inhumans either. No one other than the viewers know her brother experienced terregenesis and wound up as a statue. Nadeer gave help to the Watchdogs, who also don’t like Inhumans. Chances are she may exploit the public’s fear of Inhumans for her own political gains or get rid of them altogether if she gets her hands on the Darkhold.

The exploitation of fear is also familiar to fans of Angel.…….

Back in October 2000, Angel turned his attention to a long-closed building called the Hyperion Hotel in “Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?”. Less than 50 years before he was a tenant there. Other residents at the time included a closeted movie star, a blacklisted scriptwriter, and a Thesulac demon (Tony Amendola) that feasted on fear and paranoia. It whispers words of a victim’s deepest fears, and feeds from the fear.

The demon targets a bank teller from Kansas (Melissa Marsala) who lost her job because she was passing for white and embezzled money out of anger. The demon exploits that fear to get her to accuse Angel of killing someone, and everyone at the hotel to literally lynch Angel. After he’s hung, everyone wonders what made them do that.

When the demon appears, he’s sated from the paranoia feast. “They feed me the worst,” it says, “and I kind of serve it right back at them, and the fear and prejudice leads to certainty and hate.”

It’s interesting this was Tim Minear’s first script for the Angel series, who has gone on to great success with American Horror Story (now in it’s 6th season). Minear’s DVD commentary for the episode revealed  it was actually a combination of film noir tropes including one from Chinatown. After 16 years, maybe it’s changed into something else.

Who, or what, do we compare the Thesulac demon to? Would it be the partisan news stories in social media (many now to have been confirmed as fake to make money off hits?) that may have determined our next president? Is it a failed media who thought concentrating on personality rather than issues is better for business, since there’s not enough profit in actually educating voters on their choices?

Could Donald Trump be a Thesulac demon, in a way? While the demon used whispered voices to exploit inner fears, Trump’s words were much louder because they were heard on TV or read in social media. They had their effect whether it’s calling Hillary Clinton crooked or corrupt, claiming immigrants are criminals, Muslims are ISIS in disguise, accusing Obamacare and regulations for killing the economy, or arguing a wall will keep us safe. All of these claims exploited our fears and confirmed our biases. Once we find out we may have been fooled, just like those tenants in the Hyperion in 1952, will we have the courage to admit it?

The Hyperion residents didn’t, and neither did Angel. It weighed on him for 50 years (“There’s an entire hotel here just full of tortured souls that could use your help.” Angel replies, “Take them all.”) until Angel Investigations finally destroyed the demon and took over the hotel. According to Minear Angel also returned the embezzled money.

The future President Trump may not exactly be a Thesulac demon, but some may wonder if his supporters and future staffers could be the next best thing. Could they whisper words of fear and paranoia to satisfy a different kind of hunger, where biases must be fed rather than bellies? 

Looking at the lessons from this episode from Angel, maybe people will let these demons know room service is over.

The post How Trump’s Election And An Angel Episode From 2000 Are Connected appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Fillion’s campaign, “Take Your Pick” is a vintage style t-shirt priced at $25. It cleverly depicts Fillion’s headshot image over six different roles he has portrayed with the words “Take Your Pick.”

“It’s brilliant that Creation Stands make is so easy for people to stand behind their fandom, and stand for a good cause at the same time,” said Fillion. “Best of all, I’m giving 100% of my proceeds to the Zimmer Children’s Museum. It’s a great local nonprofit, with programs that not only teach community values but that also helps students, empowering them with self-expression and leadership skills.”

The first 100 people to purchase a Nathan Fillion t-shirt will receive a family 4-pack of free admission tickets to the Zimmer Children’s Museum. To purchase a t-shirt or learn more about Creation Stands, visit www.creationstands.com.

Located on Museum Row in Los Angeles, the Zimmer Children’s Museum — “playing our way to a better world” — is both a museum and a youth development organization. The museum provides hands-on exhibits and free-play learning experiences that teach children from toddler to eight-years-old about social responsibility and community values. YouThink, the Zimmer’s innovative youth development program, provides middle and high school students from underserved schools with arts education, leadership and civic engagement programs.

Creation Stands was created in 2015 in partnership with Creation Entertainment to engage today’s top actors to work directly with their fans to raise money for their favorite nonprofit organizations through the sale of actor-originated designs from fan artists. Successful campaigns have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity and have featured several notable actors such as William Shatner, Lana Parrilla, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, and Paul Wesley. “It’s rewarding to see the fans come together with their favorite stars to raise money for worthwhile nonprofits,” said Michelle Henning, President of Creation Stands, “and as a company we are committed to substantive support for social causes.”  We’re stronger when we stand together.

About the Zimmer Children’s Museum

Founded in 1991, the Zimmer Children’s Museum is an independent nonprofit organization nestled on Museum Row in the heart of the Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles. It provides children of all ages, youth and their families an outlet to learn community values and social responsibility through fun, interactive exhibits, classes and events.  www.zimmermuseum.org

The post Nathan’s Online Campaign For Zimmer Children’s Museum appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

A new website called Save the Day gives people a chance to know how to register in their local areas. According to the site, the purpose is to tell people “voting is a necessary and heroic act.” Also, it says “We are committed to fighting the apathy, cynicism, and honest confusion that keeps citizens from using their vote. And to reminding an increasingly out-of-touch and compromised set of representatives that they are answerable to the people they were hired to serve.”

There’s even a video featuring some very familiar faces, including Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Keegan Micheal Key, Scarlett Johansson, Nathan Fillion and Don Cheadle.

They don’t mention Trump and Clinton by name, but their concerns about the election and what could happen are pretty clear.

Oh, and Joss Whedon is back on Twitter, under @Joss. His first tweet back was to promote the video.

The post Avengers Assemble–To Get Out The Vote appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

The Paley Center NY is working with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment this year. All of the featured TV shows are filmed and produced in New York City in honor of MOME’s fiftieth anniversary.

The lineup includes Homeland, Elementary, The Path, Younger, Shades of Blue, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Madam Secretary, Quantico and Gotham.

Tickets are $40 for Paley members and $50 for the general public.

Full lineup of shows and guests: 

Homeland 10/6  at 7 pm
Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, F. Murray Abraham, Alex Gansa

Elementary 10/8 at 6 pm
Jonny Lee Miller, Lucy Liu, Aidan Quinn, Jon Michael Hill, Rob Doherty

The Path 10/9 at 6:30 pm
Aaron Paul, Michelle Monaghan, Hugh Dancy, Jessica Goldberg

Younger 10/10 at 6:30 pm
Sutton Foster, Hilary Duff, Nico Tortorella, Debi Mazar, Miriam Shor, Peter Hermann, Molly Bernard, Darren Star, Dottie Zicklin
Moderator: Cynthia Littleton, Managing Editor, Television, Variety

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah 10/13 at 8:30 pm
Trevor Noah and more

Madam Secretary 10/14  at 6:30 pm
Téa Leoni, Tim Daly, Lori McCreary, Barbara Hall
Moderator: Norah O’Donnell, Cohost, CBS This Morning

Quantico 10/17  at 7 pm
Priyanka Chopra, Blair Underwood, Joshua Safran, and more
Moderator: Richard Lawson, Columnist, Vanity Fair

Gotham 10/19  at 8 pm
Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, and more
Moderator: Damian Holbrook, Senior Writer,TV Guide Magazine

There’s a lot of great shows featured at PaleyFest NY this year. Make sure to get your tickets before they sell out!

The post Made in New York Theme at this Year’s PaleyFest NY appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Looking at the ABC schedule that was announced this week, new president Channing Dungey is letting the network keep its Marvel comic books. It may be possible it will eventually be told to grow up. 

While CBS decided to let Supergirl  fly to the CW,  ABC decided to move Agents of SHIELD to Tuesday at 10 PM after a two-hour comedy block. It decided not to give former SHIELD agents Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter their own show called Most Wanted, and to cancel Agent Carter after two low-rated seasons. Thus, we’ll never know if she married Daniel Souza, where Dottie Underwood went, and if Agent Thompson survived getting shot (and maybe if Peggy’s dead brother isn’t really dead, since some fans suspect that, too). We also won’t see Peggy open SHIELD for business.

ABC will keep The Catch, about a female P.I. and the con man she almost married, which isn’t a major ratings hit but gets a million more viewers than SHIELD. It’s also making a show about what happened after Romeo and Juliet died.

This may suggest that  if Agents of SHIELD does not have a major ratings boost next fall, season four will be its last.  ABC’s Tuesday ratings don’t compare to how CBS does with its NCIS shows or NBC’s The Voice. According to the Futon Critic, SHIELD has lost more than 30 percent of its viewers compared to last year. 

Here’s the numbers from TV Series Finale:
The season opener got a 1.72 (18-49 bracket) which was still 13 percent lower than the second-season opener. It dropped to a 1.35 by December. When the season resumed in March, it opened at a 1.14, and has not gotten close to that number since. For all of April and May, the show has stayed below a 1.0,and only reached a 1.0 for the finale. Agent Carter’s numbers stayed in the 0.7 neighborhood for most of its season.

Maybe the Inhuman presence may have played a role in the dip in ratings, but the season has had some interesting episodes, especially the Gemma-centric episode about her weeks in Maveth. That was followed by HIVE/Ward turning Daisy against the crew just after her first attempt to show how the Secret Warriors can help everyone. The biggest excitement was when Fitz and Simmons finally got together. Despite those plot twists, the show has been bested by NCIS: New Orleans and The Voice.

So will moving the show to 10 PM help the show’s fortunes in the long run? This is how TV Line describes Tuesday nights:  

“Some Unlucky Show” represents how ABC had a lot of problems getting success at that time slot, and maybe SHIELD could be a placeholder. It started at 8 PM, then 9 PM in season two. It could be tricky for SHIELD to keep the audience the two-hour comedy block will attract. Not only that, it will still compete with NCIS:  New Orleans on CBS and Chicago Fire on NBC.

Although SHIELD has not been the ratings bonanza ABC had hoped to be when it began after the first Avengers movie, it’s had a good run, If next year is the end,  it could include the return of Morse and Hunter after they were forced to leave SHIELD, maybe a two-part story that would lead to their return by March.

Another idea is a descendant from Agent Carter could join the crew…and that person is related to Dottie Underwood somehow. That would be a nice swerve, and how that happened would make a great story. Maybe we’ll also find out who Peggy married (and it better be Souza).

It’s also interesting that Chloe Bennet, who plays Daisy, claims Marvel doesn’t care about Agents of SHIELD as much as it should. The movies have an impact on the TV show, but we’re still waiting to see Melinda May, or even Hunter and Morse drop by for a cameo.  At least Fitz and Simmons did appear on its animated series,  Ultimate Spider-Man. Marvel should maintain a presence on ABC with Agents of SHIELD, or even suggest Agent Carter appear in two-hour movies. It sure helps promote their movies, especially with Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 in the new few months.

Some fans hope, though, maybe Peggy can find a new home at Netflix. There have been dozens of internet petitions on that. Hayley Atwell has a new legal drama on ABC called Conviction, and ABC has said Atwell could still have time to do a few Agent Carter episodes as well.  It depends on how many fans make themselves heard.

Maybe Netflix could also be the home for the proposed Most Wanted series that was supposed to feature Nick Blood and Adrianne Palicki. Imagine them interacting with Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Nick Cage. There would be more interest in that than seeing the Capulets and Montagues still feuding because they blame each other for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths.

Officially, Dungey says Marvel fans shouldn’t worry too much about SHIELD moving to 10 PM or Marvel’s future on ABC. According to the Hollywood Reporter, she says Marvel and ABC were in the middle of extensive talks about “a handful of projects in development”.

Still, it looks like the major networks think comic books are for kids, and it’s time to grow up. Some fans are concerned that may include ABC a year from now.

The post Is The Marvel-ous Era at ABC Facing Its End? appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

*** SPOILERS for ARROW Season 4 ***

Well before the premiere of Arrow’s fourth season, CW shared that Caity Lotz’s character Sara Lance would return to Arrow and be one of the stars of Legends of Tomorrow.  As a fan of Lotz, and one that believed she owned the role of Canary much better than her little sister, there was a lot of excitement on hearing she was returning and going to get to star as part of the first team TV show of the DC universe.  Of the stars, Lotz clearly has the most experience within the Flarrow-verse and so I was hoping she would take lead or, at least, field point of the team. 

There was lots of speculation on how Sara Lance would return.  The obvious choice was the Lazarus Pit, last seen resurrecting Thea in Arrow season 3, but because Legends of Tomorrow was dealing with time travel and the multiverse. Another theory was that she would have been a Canary from another Earth.  For those who have been watching the fourth season of Arrow, we all know that the future White Canary is the Sara Lance of the present universe who was indeed resurrected in the Lazarus Pit after Laurel and Thea made a deal with the current Ra’s al Ghul, Malcolm Merlin.  What was unforeseen to both ladies, even though Merlin warned them, is that Sara’s body was resurrected, but it was without her soul.  Let me clarify, she wasn’t a vampire or zombie, but instead an almost animal like creature with Sara’s fighting skills.

When the ladies returned to Star City, Sara was chained to protect herself and, as they found out soon enough, to protect others, as well.  Laurel was so excited to have her sister alive and home again that she looked past some obvious red flags.  You could see that Laurel believed with all of her heart that it would only be a matter of time before the sister she loved would return of her own volition.   As much as Merlin, and later Damien Darhk, are both liars, their warnings of who Sara would be after her Lazarus Pit experience did come back to haunt Team Arrow and the people of  Star City.

Maybe it is because of her current state, but I personally thought it was crazy to leave her only chained up.  Sara spent years with the League of Assassins so her being able to get free wasn’t a stretch of the imagination.  We also found out from Malcolm earlier that Thea, and now Sara, had blood lust, as does everyone who is healed from the Lazarus Pit.  This lust compels them to seek out those who killed them and execute them, and then the blood lust would be removed.  Unfortunately for Sara, the person who killed her was a mind controlled Thea.  So for her, she started seeking out women who looked like Thea and attempting to kill them.  Thea was even used for bait so that Team Arrow could capture her.

Once Sara was captured, the question became what happens next.  Although devastated by the thought, Laurel and her father both believed it would be best to kill the soulless woman. After all, that person wasn’t Sara, it looked like her physically but there was no life inside of her.

Oliver had another plan, realizing that this went well past any of their expertise, but not that of an old acquaintance of his, John Constantine.   I have to say, if you are not caught up on Arrow this season, “Haunted” is one to stream or watch on OnDemand, it is absolutely amazing.  Constantine works very well within Team Arrow, and he introduces magic into the CW’s DC universe that I am sure we will be seeing more and more of with Savage, as well as HawkMan and Hawkgirl on Legends of Tomorrow.  John anchored Oliver and Laurel to Sara so that they along with Constantine could free Sara’s soul from the Lazarus Pit and return it to Sara’s body.  To be honest, I was hoping for a longer fight, but they were able to accomplish what was needed so that Sara could be whole again, body and soul.  Unfortunately, Sara still has the blood lust even after the Constantine experience as was seen the first couple of times she went back into the field with Team Arrow, Sara’s blood lust took over and almost killed multiple ghosts.  As much as she wants her life back as it was before she was killed, as of yet she is learning to control the blood lust.  To that end, Sara has left Star City to visit her Mom in Central City.  I was hoping Sara would have guested on The Flash before this coming week.  It would have been good to see how she operates with Team Flash without Ollie or her sister.

We do know that Caity Lotz is part of the guest stars for “Heroes Join Forces” next week but do not know anything more than that.  She hasn’t been on any promos of the crossover, but has some killer moves on the new Legends of Tomorrow preview that hit the web earlier this week.

Check back for more articles on other LoT characters.  Expect to see something on HawkMan and Hawkgirl, as well as the Atom, and maybe even something on Captain Cold.  Until then, don’t forget to watch the “Heroes Join Forces” crossover episodes on The Flash, Tuesday, December 1^st and Arrow, Wednesday, December 2^nd, and look for Captain Cold to make an appearance on The Flash, Tuesday, December 8^th.  Both The Flash and Arrow air at 8pm/7 central.  Legends of Tomorrow premieres Thursday January 21^st.

The post Legends of Tomorrow: Character Intro – Sara Lance (White Canary) appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

***** SPOILERS IF YOU DIDN’T SEE “S.O.S.” LAST WEEK *****

That was apparent when Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) looked at the picture of Kara (Maya Strojan), the former SHIELD spy who loved him. Because of heartbreak that was actually his fault, he has vowed revenge against SHIELD, Coulson and Agent May for what happened. He’ll do it by rebuilding HYDRA.

As May told Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) when they discussed  the disappearance of Agent Bobbi Morse (Adrianne Palicki), and why his feelings for Morse change every second, “Love’s weird that way.” He prefers to call it a “dance of desire, discomfort and unreliable feelings.” That applies to more people than him and Morse.

It can be argued that Jiaying’s attempt to set off a war against SHIELD, and the outside world, was done out of love. She told Gonzales in “Scars” that she won’t let SHIELD put her people on a list to be put under surveillance, or allow them to experiment on them, especially Skye. Sadly, that included killing him, and framing him for shooting her. She may call it love, but it may have also been paranoia or loss of faith. That led to unreliable feelings, too.

Her husband, Cal (Kyle MacLachlan), in his near-Hulk state, had a tough time finally realizing what Jiaying had become. He said he did her bidding, including distracting SHIELD while she set off the battle, all to reunite their family. Slowly, though, he revealed the truth about her:  “I reassembled her, piece by piece, sewed her back up. She was never the same.” He also revealed she had to absorb the life force of someone every few decades to stay alive and young, and she hated to do it. But, after Whitehall, it took a village to keep her alive, and he had to sacrifice it to her. She was “death,” not Skye. “She had a good heart, Phil,” Cal said “she did. It was just torn out.” That’s what made his final act, killing Jiaying before she used terrigen crystals to create more Inhumans, and kill regular humans, all the more tragic. It was still an act of love, to give his wife peace and his daughter safety.

Then there’s the unlikely romance between Grant Ward and Kara (the former Agent 33), and how that led to them kidnapping Agent Morse. Kara wanted revenge because she claimed Morse deliberately allowed Kara to be brainwashed by HYDRA while Morse was Security Head. Morse said it was a tough call, but it had to be done. She also claimed Ward is molding Kara as Bakshi did. She disagrees, saying that Ward confessed all his sins to her. “He remade himself. That’s why I love him,” Kara says, “and why no matter what he does, I will always stand with Ward.” This isn’t surprising, since she tried to convince the crew to see Ward the way she does.
Maybe Kara’s faith in Ward could have turned him around, but we’ll never know because he accidentally killed her, thinking she was May. A broken heart, and a belief that what he did was SHIELD’s fault, convinced him to embrace the dark side and bring back HYDRA.

Love also influenced Morse. She was tied to a chair by Ward, planning that if Lance did find her, he’d get killed by a rifle when he opened the door. She made sure the bullet hit her, not him. Lance was upset by what happened, and looked over her as she healed,. Then she said to him “I can’t do this anymore.” What did she mean? It was supposed to lead to a spinoff for her and Lance until that was called off. Still, their future together is still uncertain, and it may be up to Lance to convince her otherwise. Besides, she still has to heal.

In a smaller way, love also influenced May. The crisis between SHIELD and the Inhumans inspired her to call her ex, Daniel Garner (Blair Underwood), and admit she should have told him about what happened in Bahrain. That also convinced her to take some time off to spend with Daniel.

Love may be weird, as May says, but it can influence the decisions of SHIELD agents, an ageless leader who lost her heart and a budding villain.

It may continue next season. Skye will be in charge of looking after enhanced people including Lincoln Campbell, who might be a possible love interest next season. There’s also Fitz and Simmons finally considering a date. Too bad that strange Kree rock swallowed her.

New episodes of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. return this Fall on ABC.

The post What Love Had To Do With Last Week’s SHIELD Finale appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

It would be interesting to compare the two shows, since both mark a beginning to the series. In both cases, the Doctor reluctantly has to deal with humans who are curious about his existence and his ship, the TARDIS. The titles of both stories refer to girls. After that, they take very different approaches.

AN UNEARTHLY CHILD—NOVEMBER 23^rd, 1963

The first story doesn’t center on the Doctor, but his grand-daughter, Susan (Carole Ann Ford). Her school teachers, Ian (William Russell) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill), are very curious about her. She knows about advanced scientific theories, and can spot mistakes in history books. Yet, she doesn’t know how many schillings there are in an English pound (this was eight years before it switched to pounds and pence).

They follow her to a junkyard at 76 Totter’s Lane. There they find a blue police box and a strange old man. What follows will change TV and science fiction.

The teachers can’t believe Susan and the Doctor (William Hartnell) are from another world, or that the police box, aka TARDIS, is bigger on the inside than outside and can go anywhere in space and time. Things get tense, though, when the Doctor is reluctant to let Ian and Barbara go, because they might tell others about him.  He, then, launches the TARDIS with Ian, Barbara and Susan inside.

It lands in a desolate area which is later revealed as prehistoric times. This starts the first story, where the Doctor and his companions witness Man discovering fire. The original intent of the show was to teach history, but the Daleks changed that.

Recent fans may notice how static the action is. Half the episode is a long discussion about what to do after the teachers find out. The purpose is to introduce the characters and the premise.  This was how sci-fi was done in the 1960’s.

The real story happened a week later. This worked out better the following week, when the BBC repeated the first episode to lead into the next one.

ROSE—March 26^th 2005 (US airing March 17^th 2006)

The re-introduction of the Doctor is done as a story we’d expect from the show, except it’s told in less than an hour instead of four weeks. It also relies on an old enemy to appeal to long-time fans as well as those who’ve never heard of a time-traveling police box.

Like “An Unearthly Child,” the emphasis, at first, is on a young girl. We see Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) having a typical day, working at a department store and spending her lunch with her boyfriend, Mickey (Noel Clarke). When she’s asked to give a co-worker the lottery money, she’s stalked by mannequins who have come alive. Fans recognize that as an Auton from 1971, but Rose recognizes it as something she needs to escape from.

Suddenly, her hand is grabbed by a man who says one word, “Run”.  He, of course, is the Doctor. After running away, he explains that he’s the ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston).

Later on, both the Doctor and Rose battle a rogue plastic arm, then Mickey gets grabbed by the Autons, and seeing them try to imitate him is a hoot. Then again, so is seeing them grab him.

Just like the first episode, the Doctor tries to avoid talking to Rose, until he realizes she’s not so typical. That leads to the famous “world turning” speech that describes who he is. His attitude towards humans is interesting, calling us “stupid apes” a couple of times. Still, he respects our planet, as he always has.

However, she learns more about the Doctor from the internet and an alien conspiracy guy who says he’s been around in key historic moments. He also makes the Doctor sound like a bad omen, with death his companion. That may be harsh, but the Doctor tells the Nestene that he couldn’t save their planet from a war. He says a little more about that a week later, when he says there was a Time War that also destroyed Gallifrey, his home planet.

Like Miss Wright, Rose tries to get into the TARDIS just as the Doctor gets in. This time, she has to walk out just to make sure she was walking into a police box. Getting in the second time, she sees it’s no police box. Fans also notice the old interior has been changed drastically, to a more industrial look. Of course, she’s stunned, but more about what happened to Mickey.

When it moves to another spot, after the familiar sound, though, she’s not as phased as Ian and Barbara were 42 years before. She just wants to understand who the Doctor is, and why, if he’s an alien, he sounds like someone from the North.

The final battle is interesting, too. Rose shows herself to be a woman of action when she uses her gymnastic skills to beat the Autons. She becomes a new type of Companion, someone who will act when needed.

After all that, the Doctor finally mentions his TARDIS can travel through time, as well as space. That convinces Rose to hop aboard, and the new era begins.

Both  “An Unearthly Child” and “Rose” may not have a lot in common at first glace. Still, they both serve the same purpose: getting people excited about a strange alien with a machine that can go anywhere, disguised as a call box.

You might say “The Eleventh Hour” did the same thing, as it tried to prove a 26 year old actor could be a thousand-year-old Time Lord. It succeeded in presenting a new kind of Time Lord, while also honoring his previous forms, showing he’s still the timeless hero fans around the world have admired. That’s why Doctor Who has lasted for 51 years, and, most likely, will continue for many more.

The post Looking at Doctor Who’s Two Beginnings appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

It’s been about 16 months since we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. It was one big birthday party that was capped by the excellent anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor”, still one of the few TV shows that was simulcast around the world.

Today, March 26th, is another big anniversary. Ten years ago, the revival of Doctor Who on the BBC began with Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor and pop star (back then anyway) Billie Piper as Rose Tyler.

Yet, if not for people on Twitter and a few stories on the internet here and there, people may not be aware of this milestone. BBC America should have had an all-day marathon with Eccleston’s episodes. Not only did they revive a classic sci-fi franchise, the season introduced us to John Barrowman as Jack Harkness, who would go on to his own spinoff, Torchwood, a good run on Arrow and now showing up on Scandal. It would bring back the Daleks in an unexpected way, and allowed companions to play a more active role. Remember, it was Rose who helped the Doctor stop the Autons thanks to her gymnastic skills in the first episode.

Sure, Syfy aired the Who revival…a year late…but BBC America should have had something.

After recalling the best episodes of the Current Who era, or the best moments or the best characters, what else can be said about it?

Let’s look at how the show has become a bigger part of our lives.

Unlike some current fans of the Doctor, I’ve been a loyal viewer since the 80s, when PBS was the main source. It started with Tom Baker’s episodes, followed by Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. Eventually, stations showed the Jon Pertwee shows, too. That was followed by conventions all over the country that featured the current Doctor, along with past ones and some companions. I attended a few of these conventions when I lived in San Jose around 30 years ago. It was just like Comic-Con and Wizard World, but without the cable boom and the internet. You actually had to rely on fanzines to find out when the next convention was coming,

Back then, being a Doctor Who fan was considered quirky. Back then, it was considered a quirky show on public TV. Being a fan of Who was considered no more interesting than being a fan of Upstairs Downstairs.

So, when news about the Doctor Who revival arrived in 2004, many wondered if and when it would come to the States. By now, fans of Old Who could get their fill through VHS tapes they made or the BBC made. Also, episodes of all Seven Doctors were aired regularly on the Sci-Fi Channel. Fox tried to revive it in 1996, but it didn’t work out. People wondered if it could work with a new Doctor, a new companion, and a TARDIS with a very different interior. Not only that, stories don’t last four weeks, but are told in one episode, sometimes two. Here’s a couple of the promos that ran before the first episode…

British and Canadian fans got their first look, and they were very happy with the start of a new era. It was the same show, but updated  for a new generation. However, as io9 reveals, the Sci-Fi Channel was reluctant to air the new version because it was too British. Thing is, the show was just as British in 2005 as it was in 1963, and it didn’t seem to bother the American fans. BBC America is proof of that.

Just as fans from the ’80s relied on bootleg VHS tapes to see the latest episodes until the local PBS station actually caught up,  some people relied on bootleg DVDs. Americans who lived close to CBC stations probably, in the spirit of MSTies, circulated the tapes or DVDs to other Who fans to spread the word. It was a little too early to rely on YouTube, but that was soon to be the place for impatient Who fans who didn’t want to wait until July to see the Christmas show.

As soon as Doctor Who was available on DVD, eventually in all his forms, that’s when he became more popular than he has ever been. BBC America taking over the show in 2010, and airing new episodes only a week or two behind the UK,  took it to the next level. Those who miss the “old days” can still see them on TV (RetroTV), DVD or Hulu.

In the ten years since Doctor Who returned to TV, people have enjoyed a new appreciation for a sci-fi franchise that’s been around for more than 50 years. It’s lasted so long because of a hero that everyone can recognize, along with new allies, familiar villains (even if they change a little..or a lot) and new enemies who are even scarier.

This weekend is a great time to look back at the revival of Doctor Who, in between NCAA playoff games. Set aside some time to look at “Rose” again, and see how it was a reboot that worked. It would be interesting to compare it to the first episode, “An Unearthly Child”. Also, take a look at “The Eleventh Hour” which is the closest thing to a second reboot with the arrival of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan. Also, look at “The Empty Child” and “The Doctor Dances”, which introduces Harkness, and definitely “Blink”.

So, Happy Reboot Anniversary, Doctor Who..and we’ll see you this summer.

The post Tenth Anniversary of New Who: How It’s Regenerated The Show appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Peggy:  I am a federal agent, Mr. Jarvis

Jarvis:  Yes, finely trained and skilled in the art of fetching coffee. These men you call your colleagues, they don’t respect you. They don’t even see you. Do you honestly expect they’ll change their minds?

Peggy:  I expect I will make them

Of course, she did later that episode, with the help of the Howlin’ Commandos, in a mission to Russia. So, maybe Jarvis is wrong.

Still, why should Jarvis play the “sexist” card at all? So far this series, Jarvis and Stark have told Peggy they are the only men in the whole world who know that she is a great agent and soldier the SSR can’t respect. That way, she would go on missions to recover Stark’s stolen weapons, the kind of missions she should be doing for the SSR, rather than getting lunch. It may have been what 1946 was like, but they seem to be convinced no man will see her as an equal. Agent Thompson even said that in “Blitzkrieg Button”, although he probably now realizes how dumb that move was.

Now go back to “Time and Tide”, when Jarvis and Peggy find those missing bad babies of Stark’s. They call it in, right? Nope, says Jarvis, because she can’t really explain how she found them. He asks questions he thinks the SSR will ask her…

Jarvis:  Agent Carter, how did you come to discover the stolen items?

Peggy:  Leet Brannis told me where they were

Jarvis:  And how did you come into contact with Mr. Brannis?

Peggy:  I have been conducting my own private investigation with Howard Stark.

That would not thrill the SSR one bit. Jarvis knows this, telling her they can easily accuse her of treason, as a collaborator with Stark. Peggy’s mad, considering the day she’s had.

Peggy: I will call them in, and  they will respect me.

Jarvis:  But they won’t. They’ll only use it to tear  you down.

So why is Jarvis so sure the SSR will never treat Peggy right? Maybe his suspicion towards authority is based on a British general who wouldn’t give up exit papers to save a woman in Budapest who’d become Jarvis’ wife?  He would defend Stark, because he helped Jarvis after he faced a treason charge for forging the exit papers.

Stark’s caught, too. He exploited her abilities, and her feelings, so he could get Steve Rogers’ blood. She’s mad, but he’s not that sorry he did it. “You don’t get to climb the American ladder without picking up some bad habits on the way,” he says. “There’s a ceiling for certain types of people based on how much money your parents have, your social class, your religion, your sex.” Peggy is still ashamed of him, and of herself because she allowed him to use her frustrations about her job and affections for Captain America to send her on these missions.

Jarvis and Stark may claim to respect her, but they use the “SSR is a boy’s club” card to get what they need. Is that any better than the SSR thinking, until this week, the most complicated mission Peggy can handle is getting the lunch order right? Even if Jarvis and Stark did it for the right reasons, especially proving that Stark’s being framed for treason by Leviathan, there is some doubt they can claim to be that much better than Agents Thompson and Dooley of the SSR.

At the end of “Blitzkrieg Button”, Peggy makes her situation clear:  “I can trust the actions of men who don’t respect me more than those who do,” she says. “At least when they ask for something they mean it.”

The post Agent Carter: Are Stark and Jarvis Just As Sexist As SSR? appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

This Monday brings the long awaited premiere of the SyFy original mini-series Ascension starring Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica 2004), Brian Van Holt (House of Wax), Ryan Robbins (Sanctuary), Al Sapienza and Andrea Roth.  Ascension is the story of a 1963 government mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on the starship Ascension, for a 100 year long voyage to populate a new world. As they near the midway point, their last opportunity to scrub the mission and return to Earth, a young woman is murdered mysteriously, which causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.

To prepare us for this exciting 6-hour event, let’s go back to July 2014 and the Ascension press room at San Diego Comic-Con.

Watch with me!
 

 

 

 

 

The Ascension Three Night Event starts Monday, December 15th at 9/8c on SyFy.  Go to SyFy.com more information about the show and take the Aptitude Exam to find out what position on the ship you will apprentice for and earn an official Ascension badge. (Apparently, I will be your ship’s Doctor.)

The post FlashBack Friday: SDCC 2014 Ascension Press Room appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

This Sunday, December 7th, brings the return of TNT’s fan favorite mini-series, The Librarian, as a new series called The Librarians, starring John Larroquette, Rebecca Romijn and, the ever entertaining, Christian Kane. The series focuses on an ancient organization hidden beneath the Metropolitan Pulic Library dedicated to protecting the world from the secret, magical reality all around them. The group fights supernatural threats and recovers powerful artifacts, including the Spear of Destiny, The Ark of the Covenant and Excalibur. If you’ve never seen the original The Librarian film series starring Noah Wyle, you should check them out!

To mark the premiere, let’s take a look back… Back…Back, to 2010 and the Leverage press room featuring Christian Kane (Elliot) and Aldis Hodge (Hardison) at San Diego Comic-Con.

Watch with me!

The Librarians will air on Sundays

The post FlashBack Friday: SDCC 2010- Leverage Press Room appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Tonight is All Hallow’s Eve or better known as Halloween! Time to break out that Slutty Nurse costume you’ve been hiding! Or, if you have the nerve, Slutty Ebola Nurse. Yes. That is a thing.

But what says Halloween more than werewolves? So, let’s pay a visit to our favorite pack of werewolves and friends. Let’s go back… Back. That’s it, far enough. To New York Comic Con 2013 and the Teen Wolf press room.

Watch with me!

Bonus video!

You can binge watch Teen Wolf Season 4 while passing out candy on MTV.com.

The post FlashBack Friday: NYCC 2013 Teen Wolf Press Room appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Tonight, aside from being FRIDAY!, is also the premiere of NBC’s new series Constantine. Many of us saw the 2005 movie starring Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz, though some of us may have regretted that choice. (I’m just saying) But, this Constantine plans to stay more faithful to the comic books and has a great buzz on it.

So, to mark it’s premiere, let’s go back (That’s it, just the one) to San Deigo Comic-Con 2014 and the Constantine press room.

Watch with me!

Matt Ryan (John Constantine)

Harold Perrineau (Manny)

Angelica Celaya (Zed)

Constantine airs Fridays at 10/9c on NBC.

The post FlashBack Friday: SDCC 2014 Constantine Press Room appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Next Friday marks the season 4 premiere of Grimm, returning to bring us all those scary Wessen with their dangerous Wessen schemes.  Over the years, the show has entertained us with great fight scenes and heavy plot ponts, all while not taking themselves too seriously. Didn’t watch the last season? No worries! You can binge watch season 3 on NBC.com.

So, let’s go back… Back. Ok, that’s far enough. To 2013’s San Diego Comic-Con Press Room for Grimm.

Watch with me!

David Giuntoli (Nick Burkhardt)

Sasha Roiz (Captain Sean Renard)

Bitsie Tulloch (Juliette Silverton)

Bree Turner (Rosalee Calvert)

Claire Coffee (Adalind Schade)

Grimm airs on Fridays at 9/8c on NBC. Watch full episodes on NBC.com.

The post FlashBack Friday: SDCC 2013 – Grimm Press Room appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

This weekend features the premiere of the new Showtime original series The Affair starring Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, Maura Tierney and, one of my all time favorite actors, Joshua Jackson! The Affair examines the psychological effects of an affair between a teacher who spends the summer at his wife’s family’s estate in the Hamptons and a married waitress at a local diner.

As I love Joshua Jackson and will watch him in anything, The Affair is on my viewing schedule this weekend. I hope it’s on yours, as well!

So, to celebrate Joshua’s return to weekly TV, let’s go back…Back, to WonderCon 2012 and the Fringe press interviews.

Watch with me!

Joshua Jackson (Peter Bishop)

John Noble (Walter Bishop)

Seth Gabel (Lincoln Lee)

Producers J.H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner

The Affair airs on Sunday at 10/9c on Showtime. Watch full episodes on SHO.com.

The post FlashBack Friday: Wondercon 2012- Fringe Press Room appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

This coming week features the 10th season return of one of my all time favorite shows, Supernatural! From the very beginning, I have followed the Winchester Brothers on their, oh so, bumpy ride across America and into our hearts, killing a few demons along the way. And this upcoming season looks to be the most challenging one yet for The Boys. Can you say “Deanmon”?

So, let’s look back… Back… Even further back, to a time when we still had our Bobby, gosh darnit! Back to PaleyFest 2011 and the red carpet interviews.

Watch with me!

Jim Beaver (Bobby Singer) 

Ben Edlund (Writer/Executive Producer)

Misha Collins (Castiel)

Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester) and Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester)

The post FlashBack Friday: PaleyFest 2011- Supernatural Red Carpet appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Lust For Love, the independent film by Anton King, is being released on DVD on Monday, September 29th, so this would be the perfect time to take a look back at the Red Carpet Premiere February 2014. The film is a romantic comedy starring Fran Kranz, Dichen Lachman, Enver Gjokaj and Miracle Laurie, all formerly featured on Joss Whedon’s short lived drama, Dollhouse. Its a fun look at the ways we can sabotage our own love lives and miss what is right in front of us.

So come back…Back. OK, stop that’s far enough! To the Red Carpet Premiere of Lust For Love.

Watch with me!

The post FlashBack Friday: Lust For Love Red Carpet appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

It’s been a long, hot summer, especially this past week. But, fear not! The new Fall season is right around the corner. Then we can spend all of our time in doors, watching all the great new shows! Not to forget the awesome returning ones. Case in point, this coming Tuesday marks the return of one of my favorites, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I still fondly remember Agent Coulson finding his gun and instantly vaporizing the suddenly renewed Clairvoyant. So good, I had to watch it twice.

So, let’s go back…Back… Wait, not that far back! Just to SDCC 2013 and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. press room.

Watch with me!

Joss Whedon – Executive Producer

Clark Gregg – “Phil Coulson”

Ming-Na Wen – “Melinda May”

Brett Dalton – “Grant Ward” & Chloe Bennet – “Skye”

Iain De Caestecker – “Leo Fitz” & Elizabeth Henstridge -“Jemma Simmons”

Jeffery Bell & Jeph Loeb -Executive Producer & Head of Marvel Programming

Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen – Executive Producers/Showrunners

The post FlashBack Friday: SDCC 2013- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Press Room appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

We’re still in the black hole that is Summer Hiatus, but the light is on the horizon. But, I have to say, I miss Castle. Say what you will, but it is always enjoyable and I could watch it every single day. (And you almost can, with the constant repeats on TNT.)

So, let’s look back… Back. Back just a little bit more to 2012 and PaleyFest Red Carpet the some of the cast of Castle, so I can get my fix.

Watch with me!

NOTE: I met Jon Huertas at the Castle book signing, back in season one and he was very charming and nice to very one, even though he knew most of the people were there to see Nathan Fillion. So, give this man his props!

The post FlashBack Friday: PaleyFest 2012- Castle Red Carpet appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Pickins are getting slim in the TV viewing arena, while we all wait, patiently (NOT!), for our favorite shows to come back and the fresh crop of new shows to start. But, let’s look back at a much missed show that was cut short before it’s time… Dollhouse.

While short lived, Dollhouse brought many new faces to our attention, from Dichen Lachman and Fran Kranz, to Enver Gjokaj and Miracle Laurie, and brought Tahmoh Penikett into the WhedonVerse! Bringing discussions of free will, technology gone terribly wrong and big business’ hold on us all, the potential for shocking, angering and intriguing us was nearly endless.  Whedonopolis’ own David Mello made a video, marking the 5th anniversary of this complex show.

Watch with me!

The post FlashBack Friday: A Look Back at Dollhouse appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

This week we’re looking at Tron: Uprising.  With lots of big names voicing the characters, great graphics and an interesting premise, it had the potential to be a hit. It just didn’t catch on. Though never offically canceled by Disney, the last of its 18 episodes aired more than a year ago.

So, let’s go back… Back… Back to May of 2012, to the press junket for Tron: Uprising and all the hopefulness in their eyes.

Watch with me!

The post FlashBack Friday: Tron Uprising Cast Interviews appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

And what is in store for you this week, you ask? What delicious bite of Whedonopolis history is Kelly serving up today, you say?  Why doesn’t she just get on with it, you wonder? Excellent questions, every one!

The new series of Doctor Who premieres tomorrow featuring the first episode for the new Doctor, Peter Capaldi. He looks like he’ll be a great Doctor, but let’s take a look back at one of my favorites…That tall, skinny, Scottish bloke. Mr. David Tennant, the 10th Doctor. (In the original numbering.)

Let me take you back…Back…Back… And back some more. All the way to 2009, to Doctor Who‘s first appearance at San Diego Comic-Con (and the first, and last, time I slept out on the sidewalk overnight for a panel). Join me as we revisit the introduction of the premiere screenings of the Doctor Who Series 5 special “Planet of the Dead” and episode 5 of Torchwood‘s “Children of Earth” by Russel T. Davies, David Tennant and John Barrowman.

Watch with me!

For those who know about this event, it’s at 4:50. 😉

Note: The woman who yells out “Hi, David!” to which David Tennant replies “Hi!” is none other than our own Button Lady!

The post FlashBack Friday: SDCC 2009- Doctor Who/Torchwood Screening Intro appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Happy Friday, good viewers! Kelly the Editor, here, your ever faithful servant. SyFy’s Dominion just wrapped its freshman season last week and we’re all waiting anxiously to see if they’ll get a season 2.

While we’re waiting to see if we’ll get more Anthony Stewart Head on our TVs, let’s take a moment to look back to a time when he was mixed up with magic. I don’t mean the time he spent in good ole Sunnydale. I’m referring to his turn as King Uther Pendragon in BBC America’s Merlin.

Journey with me back… Back… And back some more, to 2010 and the press room at San Diego Comic-Con with the cast of Merlin.

Watch with me!

Anthony Stewart Head (King Uther Pendragon)

Colin Morgan (Merlin)

Johnny Capps & Julian Murphy (co-creators)

The post FlashBack Friday: SDCC 2010- Merlin Press Room appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Friday: The first dilemma of the Con hit me like a brick when I had to choose between the Game of Thrones and Orphan Black panels. While they weren’t at the same time, I knew I would feasibly be able to do only one, and because I didn’t line up in the Hall H line overnight, I sadly wiped away my tears on missing the Game of Thrones panel. I was really adamant on seeing Tatiana Maslany and the rest of the Orphan Black cast, so the first thing I did when I got to the Con was to post up in Room 6A where Orphan Black would be at 6:40pm. It was currently 10am. If you think I’m crazy, there were others in that hot, sweaty room waiting too, jostling in between each panel to get a better seat. It was cutthroat.

Luckily for me though, I was able to sit through six other panels before OB came. First up was Evangeline Lilly (The Hobbit, Ant-Man, Lost fame). She was promoting her children’s book, which looked creepy and fun and seemed like she put a lot of effort into it. I personally adore Evangeline Lilly and think she is great. So, I am willing to check out her children’s book. You should too! It’s called the Squickerwonkers.

Next up were two cartoon shows: My Little Pony and Gravity Falls. I had NO idea there was such a crazy fan base for both. I had never even heard of Gravity Falls, which stars the voices of Jason Ritter and Kristen Schaal. Girls, bronies, parents and more were going crazy for these two animated shows. It was shocking to see how invested these fans were in the upcoming plots and seasons of each show. The actors did the voices of their characters and people went wild. Maybe I’ll have to check out one of these shows?!

Next up was Bates Motel! I was pleasantly surprised because I very much wanted to go this panel as well and thought it was in another room for some reason. Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Nestor Carbonell, Olivia Cooke, Carlton Cuse, and Kerry Ehrin were all present. They talked a lot about season two and showed these awesome videos that were hilarious, including Freddie Highmore dubbing over the show in Spanish himself! Also, they showed fake auditions clips of each of the actors. It was a great time and Season Three looks like it’ll be a promising one!

The much anticipated Outlander was next. Show creator Ronald Moore was wearing a kilt and playing to the fans. Most of the questions were for book author Diana Gabaldon, who seemed reserved. Actually, the whole cast seemed awed and quieted by the screaming fans. This is their first Comic Con after all and maybe the rampant craziness was subduing them. The show/clips looked great though and I’d be interested to check out the show.

Vikings was next, but I had to excuse myself to go to the bathroom. But from what I saw, the show looks great and intense and the cast was really fun and into the fans. I want to watch the show now.

But finally, Orphan Black’s time arrived! The room was filled to the brim with screaming fans, tons were dressed up as various Tatiana Maslany characters. While we didn’t see any clips, a lot of the fans got to interact with the cast and share their stories. It was quite emotional and I teared up myself listening to one girl’s story about how the show saved her life. Tatiana and the rest of the cast looked very touched as well. Many of the audience members gave gifts to Tatiana, including a really cool Russian Clone Doll. Very cool. The cast was all so genuine and nice and couldn’t wait for us to see next season, without giving anything away.

By this time, the security had learned how to handle the moments after a panel, and soon they started lining up in front of the stage to block people from attempting to get autographs. It was sad, but people tried anyways and the cast was a good sport. I was glad to just witness first hand the great talent that is every actor on this show. Seriously, check it out if you don’t watch it yet!

So that was my Friday. The rest of the con I spent walking the floor and seeing various exhibits outside and around. I did the Game of Thrones: Survive the Realm Experience which showcased costumes/props and allowed you to take a GIF with a dragon, a picture on the Iron Throne, and also experience the Oculus to climb the Wall. I highly recommend this virtual reality experience. It was so lifelike, scary, and amazing! I also was able to do the Oculus inside the Con for Pacific Rim, which was similarly amazing. Virtual Reality is our future!

Comic Con was a great experience and next year I look forward to doing even more and managing my time better because I didn’t get to see and experience everything I wanted. I did have chance encounters twice with actors from Supernatural (Misha Collins and Jared Padalecki, which was cool). And I did see a bunch of great cosplayers – my favorite being Vanellope, from Wreck-It-Ralph. Until next year! …

The post A San Diego Comic Con 2014 Experience! appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

A little while later, while I was meeting Sarah Michelle Gellar, I made a joke about how she made me feel tall. Behind me, I could hear Robin bark out a laugh. It’s a memory I’ll hold even more dearly in my heart now.

RIP Robin. You were the best and you are missed.

The post Remembering Robin Williams appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

But, now I’m back and I’m taking you back. Back to a time where people wearing animal furs didn’t get spray painted. Back to the time of Vikings! Well, at least, the VIKINGS press room at WonderCon 2013.

Watch with me!

George Blagden

Katheryn Winnick

Travis Fimmel

The post FlashBack Friday: WonderCon 2013 – Vikings Press Room appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Being here at SDCC and seeing all the new shows and movies coming to us in the near future, it brings to mind the new shows that were presented in 2013. I don’t know about you, but one of the biggest disappointments for me last year was the cancelling of Fox’s Almost Human, starring Karl Urban and Michael Ealy. Sure it had some issues (what new series doesn’t?), but when it was good, it was good!

So, take a brief jaunt with me, back to 2013 and our interviews from the press room at SDCC with the cast and creator of the sadly canceled Almost Human.

Watch with me!

PS  Don’t forget to take a look at the photos from the con in our photo gallery!

The post FlashBack Friday: SDCC 2013 – Almost Human Press Room appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

While you are all getting psyched up for the most infamous nerd prom in all the land coming later this week, I had the fantastic opportunity while on a visit home to my native east coast to fulfill my comic convention quota for the month at Connecticon.  While proudly hailing itself as “a celebration of pop culture – everything from anime, to science fiction, comic books and card games,” this weekend-long festival of cool might as well have billed itself as a voice actor’s paradise this year, as most of the honored guest list would have felt right at home on Rob Paulsen’s Talkin’ Toons podcast.

Lauren Landa with moderator Rob Roman

Our day began with a front row seat on native Angeleno Lauren Landa’s Q&A session, whom animé aficionados will recognize as the voice Annie Leonhardt in Attack on Titan and will get Landa’s joke: “Here’s the thing about Annie…she starts off as a side character, but she gets bigger.”

Landa revealed she did not know anything about the Titan series whatsoever until she auditioned for the role, but after she was given the beginning of the series to take home and watch, she got just as hooked as any fan would and has yet to go past episode 13.  Someday Landa hopes to visit Gotham City and lend her pipes to the likes of Poison Ivy, Catwoman, or Harley Quinn, but in the meantime, she teased the crowd with the announcement that she will be playing Ain in the English-dubbed version of One Piece: Film Z, which will be hitting North America on September 30, 2014.

John Patrick Lowrie and Ellen McLain having a laugh with moderator Rob Roman

Although the promise of sweet, moist, and delicious cake to be served to the press next proved to be a lie, meeting the voice of GLaDOs from the Portal series and her husband the Sniper from Team Fortress 2 was a true pleasure.  Remarkably, Ellen McClain noted that when she auditioned for the role of everyone’s favorite homicidal AI, she didn’t know that Valve would later be putting her voice through autotune and other audio filter wizardry — she simply did the best she could to sound like the computer-generated voice she was presented with and instructed to imitate to the best of her ability.

“The thing that surprised me most is that they let me sing,” McClain chuckled.

Despite her stunning opera and theatre repertoire, the first time anyone at Valve had her her sing was when she came in to record Jonathan Coulton’s notorious closer “Still Alive.”  It didn’t take nearly that long for her loving husband, John Patrick Lowrie, to appreciate the fullest extent of her talents, however.  When the couple moved to Seattle in 1989, Lowrie was the one who gave McClain the gentle nudge to give voice acting for video games a try — and Lowrie was keen to remind us to keep in mind this was at a time when video game companies naïvely thought they had no need for women in the business.  Soon enough, Sierra Online and Humungous Games gave both Lowrie and McClain a shot, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Before leaving to host another Q&A for the public focused on writing later that day, I could not help but ask if the couple had been contacted by Valve to start working on any games that count up to 3 any time soon.  Lowrie and McClain smiled humbly and offered only that they are the last on the food chain to be contacted about such things, but they would certainly be more than happy to come back to Valve for more when they are ready for them.  Let us all hope that phone call comes sooner than later.

Richard Horvitz and Rikki Simons

Next up on our tour of ConnectiCon’s voice acting paradise was the dynamic duo of Richard Horvitz and Rikki Simons, best known for working together on the sinisterly silly animated series Invader Zim.  To anyone who doubts the continued popularity of the series, Rikki seemed relieved not to be reliving his craziest con experience so far, as he shared the story of how one time in Florida a fan jumped right up to him and bit him in the arm “and then hung on [while] I continued to sign autographs because I thought she’d fall off sooner than later.”

As my introduction to Horwitz came not with Zim but with the critically acclaimed, yet often criminally overlooked game Psychonauts, I asked Horwitz if there was any possibility Double Fine might have him back soon to reprise his role as the protagonist Raz.

“I really hope so,” Horvitz beamed, “but it depends if interest is there [for a sequel] and if Tim Schafer and Double Fine can raise the money to produce it.”  He went on to recount the now-famous news story of how beloved Minecraft co-creator Markus “Notch” Persson reached out to Schafer via Twitter to offer to help fund Psychonauts 2, but after learning that the sequel was estimated to cost a cool $18 million to produce, Notch regrettably had to decline as he is still neck-deep in other exciting independent gaming projects at the moment and therefore would not be able to give the sequel the dedication it deserves.  Horvitz was sure to point out that he has continued to work with Schafer on other Double Fine projects, however, most recently as The Space Weaver in the point-and-click adventure Broken Age.

Rob Paulsen, Maurice LaMarche, and moderator Rob Roman

For the coup de grâce, Pinky & The Brain took the junket by storm and later performed the entirety of Dr. Seuss’ classic Green Eggs and Ham as our two favorite lab mice bent on world domination.  When local radio personality and aspiring voice actor Rob Roman opened up the panel by asking the two legends for advice on how to embark on a career in voice acting, LaMarche and Paulsen strongly encouraged him and everyone else anxious to break into the business to take regular acting classes and/or pursue whatever other sort of acting experience that one can, for being on the mic for a cartoon or a video game is not just about making funny voices — it’s about embodying a unique character, first and foremost.  LaMarche, also a veteran of the stand-up circuit, admitted that the audition process for voice acting has changed a great deal since he and his fellow lab mouse got their start, and that you can never know what to expect from casting producers.

“When I went in to audition for The Real Ghostbusters,” LaMarche recounted, “they told me: ‘don’t impersonate anyone from the movie.'” He then stood there baffled, not knowing what else he could possibly do but sound like the actors in the feature film, thinking: “I don’t have anything except Harold Ramis!”  He went in, did his best Egon, and as we all know today got the part anyway, proving that sometimes, people just do not know what they really want until they see or hear it for themselves.  Later into the cartoon’s run, LaMarche recalled how he felt guilty when Bill Murray called into the studio to ask the production team why they were able to find someone to pull off Ramis’ part, but “how come my guy sounds like Garfield the cat?”  When that happened, Lorenzo Music was traded in for Full House‘s Dave Coulier, and ironically after Music passed away and a Garfield movie was made in 2004, Murray stepped in to take over Music’s lead as the voice of the lasagna-loving feline Music brought to us for years on Saturday mornings.  LaMarche went on to recount that — to add another scrumptious layer to the irony of it all — Ernie Hudson had come in to audition for Winston, but the producers opted to go with Arsenio Hall instead.  Go figure!

When asked if it was his choice to join the cast of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, Paulsen mused with heartfelt gratitude that “it’s flattering that people in the viewing public think we have the power to pick our parts.”  When Nickelodeon gave Paulsen the green light to be a ninja turtle once again, Paulsen laughed at how he “was a victim of my own ageism,” thinking there is no way in Dimension X they would truly want him to do this since he is “a few years away from the ‘Teenage’ part” (to which LaMarche added: “but not the ‘Mutant’ part.”)

Paulsen and LaMarche concluded their panel by teasing how they would soon be working together again on a new adaptation loosely based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves called The 7D alongside Billy West and Kevin Michael Richardson and that Animaniacs showrunner Tom Ruegger will be at the helm, so we can all look forward to the same sort of zany adult humor snuck in between the lines of this new kid-friendly program that we all came to expect with the Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister).

As phenomenal as this all was, this barely scratches the surface of what ConnectiCon had to offer this year, and next year promises to be even bigger and better than ever before.  If you happen to be traveling to the east coast next mid-July, be sure to look it up!

The post Connecticon 2014: A Voice Actor’s Paradise appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

San Diego Comic-Con is days away and, by now, we’ve all got the list of panels that we want to see. But, one panel no one will see this year is SyFy Channel’s Warehouse 13. The show is gone, but not forgotten.

But, dry those tears! I have the fix!

Journey back with me, not so long ago, to a happier time when Pete, Myka, Claudia, Jinks and Artie were all out there finding those artifacts, stopping the bad guys and saving the world. A Lot.

Watch with me!

The post FlashBack Friday: SDCC 2012- Warehouse 13 Press Room appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Just a couple more weeks until San Diego Comic-Con and all the excitement that brings! But, this year, what it won’t be bringing us is a Doctor Who panel.

Now, now. Stop that crying. I have the cure for the No Doctor Blues!

Journey back with me, long ago, to a happier place, where Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvil thrilled us with their adventures. Back to 2011 and the SDCC Doctor Who panel.

Watch with me!

The post FlashBack Friday: SDCC 2011- Doctor Who panel appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Today I’m introducing a new feature called Flashback Fridays, wherein we will look back on some of the fun moments in Whedonopolis history and enjoy them all over again.

Join me, won’t you?

San Diego Comic-Con 2014 is fast approaching. And, what better way to prepare for The Con than a little reminiscing.

Let us go back…back. Even further back, to 2010 when Whedonopolis was granted an exclusive interview with the lovely and talented Charisma Carpenter.

Watch with me!

The post FlashBack Friday: SDCC 2010- Charisma Carpenter Exclusive Interview appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

James Marsters, Seamus Dever, Geoffrey Arend, and Henri Lubatti perform in LA Theatre Works’ production of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Photo Credit: LA Theatre Works

Some shows stick with you more than others because of the vibrancy of the cast that brings the story you’re seeing to life. Such was the case with The Hound of the Baskervilles. Starring Seamus Dever as Sherlock Holmes, Geoffrey Arend as Dr. John Watson, James Marsters as Sir Henry “Call me Hank” Baskerville, and Sarah Drew as Beryl Stapleton, this production of the classic tale, adapted by David Pichette and R. Hamilton Wright, was a ton of fun for me and my entire family.

I have been anticipating this show for months, as it was the planned family outing as a late celebration of my most recent birthday. It was a fantastic experience with a brilliant cast. Though there were a few minor stumbles in the two performances I saw, the shows were lots of fun and had great audience responses.

The Hound of the Baskervilles is a story that is well known enough that it doesn’t need a major explanation. In the shortest form possible, Lord Charles Baskerville dies and his heir, Henry Baskerville, travels from Canada to England to claim his inheritance. However, the previous Lord dies from what appears to be a family curse, so Holmes and Watson are called in to help. (This is famously a Watson-focused case, as Holmes chooses to not to join Watson on the journey to the Baskerville homestead.) Once there, the new Lord Baskerville falls in love with his neighbor, Beryl Stapleton, while Watson is on the case to discover the truth of the curse on the family. Eventually, all is revealed, with surprises for almost all involved.

***SPOILERS Below***

This show was a lot of fun, and I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to see it twice. Seamus Dever actually played a few roles in this production, as Sherlock isn’t part of the whole case (even though fans of the story know he’s been there the entire time). I am in awe of his talents with accents and voices, since Dever had more than anyone else in the show. Each character was precise and separate from the others, which is not an easy task, especially when those other characters are actually Holmes in disguise. Best of all, his Sherlock opens and closes the show perfectly. I can honestly say that this production hosts one of my favorite Sherlocks of all time. He also had a fantastic back-and-forth with Watson, which made the characters even more realistic.

Geoffrey Arend was the true star of this production as Dr. John Watson. His Watson embodies all the best attributes of the character, and his tight, sharp accent brought the character together. He was the voice of reason in the play, and when it is available for listening, you will see what I mean. Arend’s accent was a sharp contrast to everyone else in the show and helped it keep pace. One moment of his performance I particularly enjoyed was when Watson realizes that Holmes has been there all along. When the reveal is given, Arend immediately dropped his head in the perfect hang dog expression. It added some levity to the moment, and had me snickering in the audience. It’s too bad that listeners to the audio play will be unable to see that moment, but you’ll be able to hear it for sure.

James Marsters clearly had a lot of fun as Sir Henry Baskerville. Though his accent was not Canadian in the least, and sounded more like a mix of a generic Southern accent and Southern Californian accent, it at least keeps his character from sounding like every other character in the show, who had a British accent. He also played the cowboy role really well, and on stage was typically in a long duster that worked very well with the character he played. He also played a man nearly brought down by love fantastically.

Sarah Drew’s role as Beryl Stapleton was also very good. She played the seemingly sweet, lovely women to perfection, and when the twist at the end comes with the truth being revealed, Drew turned on a switch and I believed the change. She successfully played a character who convinced everyone of how good she was that it was a genuine shock to see the change at the end. However, this also reminded me of an old Sailor Moon adage – never trust a woman named Beryl. She’s most likely evil. My only complaint with Drew’s performance was the couple of screams she had to do. I understand that the microphones used by LA Theatre Works are very powerful, but her screams came across as entirely fake.

Everyone else in the cast was also fantastic. Wilson Bethel as Jack Stapleton was phenomenal. I’m not entirely sure what techniques he used to make his performance so good, but whatever it was, it really worked. He also played another character in the show who I won’t name. Henri Lubatti was also fantastic as Dr. James Mortimer. His introduction lead directly to one of my absolute favorite moments early in the show. Christopher Neame pulled a little bit of double duty as both Sir Charles Baskerville and Mr. Frankland. He made both characters distinct, and that was highly appreciated as the latter character he played, Mr. Frankland, is not a fan of the Baskerville clan. Darren Richardson played Barrymore, the man servant of the Baskerville homestead. He did a great job, and was made better with the addition of Moira Quirk as Mrs. Barrymore. The two played a realistic couple that helped to drive parts of the story along. Quirk also needs to be acknowledged for her skill in her other part as Mrs. Hudson. She played some of my favorite moments in the entire play, including flirting with Sir Henry and showing up both Holmes and Watson by proving that after serving them for years, she too has learned about the power and importance of observation.

The Hound of the Baskervilles is a lot of fun, and the LA Theatre Works production is one for the ages. Be sure to check the show out once it’s released! Also keep an eye out for our interview with Seamus Dever!

The post Seeing ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ at LA Theatre Works appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

After teasing fans with a “big important cryptic announcement” on Twitter, master of pop and parody “Weird Al” Yankovic unleashed the striking photo you see above, which Rolling Stoneconfirmed this morning could only mean one thing: another new ALbum is coming!

This momentous occasion nearly immediately followed the posting of the image below, proclaiming Al’s upcoming appearance as Sir Isaac Newton on Epic Rap Battles of History, which should be released at some point later today:

What should be most exciting for fans to learn is that this heretofore-unnamed album will conclude Al’s recording label contract. This means that Al will no longer be beholden to producing entire albums worth of parody and pastiche at staggered intervals. From this point forth, Al might just finally become free to pen and release new music whenever he damn well pleases through the already burgeoning methods of digital distribution.

BOTTOM LINE:
If the thought of Al having his own Bandcamp page and AL-TV overriding YouTube broadcasts doesn’t make you giddy enough to run laps around the wheel with Harvey the Wonder Hamster, I don’t know what will.

All I need now is to get my new smart Internet-connected TV to work. Al, would you mind helping me with that?

06/16/2014 17:02 UPDATE: The Epic Rap Battle of History featuring Al as Sir Isaac Newton is now LIVE!!!

And that’s not all! Behold the first ever teaser for Al’s new album:

The post New “Weird Al” album incoming July 15th!- UPDATE- New Video Added! appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.

Sometimes, one goes to the theatre with no previous knowledge of the material they are about to see, and it turns into one of the best performances they’ve ever seen. For me, it was seeing American Night: The Ballad of Juan José at LA Theatre Works. The show tells the story of Juan José, who left his family behind in Mexico to immigrate to America. He has been studying for his citizenship test, and it’s the night before the big day. One second, you’re in the room with Juan José and his interviewers, and the next you’re in a dreamscape that is filled with various pop culture references that shouldn’t necessarily work, but do spectacularly, be it lines about texting, Wal*Mart, Olive Garden, and even the musical The Book of Mormon. Some of the dream sequences referenced the Civil Rights movement, Japanese-American internment camps, and even Lewis and Clarke. And that’s not even close to recounting all the other sequences, which were also a lot of fun.

One of my favorite things about the show was that the writer, Richard Montoya, was part of the cast. I noticed throughout the show that he was busy writing on his script when he wasn’t performing, and then, when he was at a mic, he was making everyone in the room laugh. The best thing about the laughter was watching the shaking shoulders of the rest of the cast. They knew they couldn’t laugh out loud, due to the performance being recorded, and they made the best of it while still being able to react. If I were in their position, I don’t think I’d have been able to be so controlled. I also really appreciated the way that history was incorporated into the dream sequences in the show. It took me back to my high school history/civics classes while showing some events in a much more entertaining light that would have kept me enthralled while in those classes. (Isn’t it amazing how good entertainment can make topics that have previously seemed boring so much more interesting?)

The most powerful aspect of American Night: The Ballad of Juan José was the humanity it portrayed. Too often, when immigration is covered in the news, it takes on an “us versus them” attitude that isn’t good for civil conversation. The play allows the audience to see Juan José as a desperate man who just wants the opportunity to care for his family and protect them from an environment rife with corruption and danger. Seeing a human face, even one that is a character in a play, gives way to open new discussions about the importance of immigration.

With that said, the show wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without the cast. Had a less talented group performed the play, I don’t know that it would have worked as well as it did. As most of the cast played several roles, it’s hard to call out any of them over the others for their performances. Everyone clearly had fun while they brought their characters to life, and the show felt like a modern day Monty Python show.

When this show is available for purchase, I will be the first in line to buy it. I haven’t laughed as hard as I did while seeing American Night: The Ballad of Juan José in a long time. It is currently my second favorite of the LA Theatre Works productions that I’ve seen live, but it is by far the funniest.

The post Seeing ‘American Night: The Ballad of Juan José’ at LA Theatre Works appeared first on Six Degrees of Geek.