FlashForward Is Ass-Backwards
Sep 27
The first few things that pissed me off about FlashForward were the two blatant examples of Lostie-baiting, both in the show’s first eighteen minutes.
That portion of the series was made available online before the premiere aired; several of the reviews I read commented favorably on those eighteen minutes and, yes, compared them to Lost‘s opening episode, and the plane crash that kicked off that series.
On FlashForward, we spend about ten minutes “getting to know” a set of still-dusty stock TV characters pulled off the “hour-long network drama” shelf; something weird happens; the world goes batshit; a car explodes.
See? Just like Oceanic 815’s engine exploded! It wouldn’t surprise me if it was timed in the episode down to the second to match Lost‘s explosion.
Then Joe Fiennes, playing an FBI agent who seems shockingly unconcerned with doing his job (protecting and helping people, right?) during a major disaster, goes looking for his wife and sees a kangaroo jumping down the street.
See? Just like the polar bear! A kangaroo in Los Angeles, hoppin’ down the street? How STRANGE. Why, I bet there’s a MYSTERY behind that. (Cue Ralph Dinby nose wiggle.)
Actually, my first thought was that maybe the nearest zoo had experienced some kind of mishap during the weird happening, and the kangaroo cage was open, and the animal escaped. Thank goodness for ABC, who then teased out the series into the next commercial break with a loud close-up of the jumping kangaroo and the announcer intoning coyly, “REMEMBER THE KANGAROO.”
Got it. Thanks, announcer guy! Clearly, if you say something weird is happening, and there are going to be answers, I MUST BE INTERESTED, even if I have absolutely no reason to be.
Unconventional Gets Reviewed! Positively!
Sep 24
Humble ol’ me was glad to read the positive review given Unconventional, my novel(la) about geeks and laffs and booze, by Jeff Giles over at Popdose, who said it was “what Fanboys wanted to be”:
The debut novel (or novella, as somewhat grumpily conceded in the Author’s Note) from Alert Nerd‘s Matt Springer, Unconventional is, according to the front cover’s helpful summary, “a tale of sex, booze, and geeks”.pretty much in that order. And as unappealing as a book filled with drunk, naked nerds might seem, Springer makes it work, thanks to his effortlessly conversational writing and a plot that actually has less to do with Star Wars and Lord of the Rings than it lets on.
Awesome, amirite?! I’m perhaps biased.
This is just the start of a BIG fall for Alert Nerd and our suddenly-explodey publishing arm, Alert Nerd Press, which now has a fancy new website! (It looks awesome Jeff!) As does the UnConvention, Chicagoland’s finest sci-fi gathering and the subject of Unconventional.
Our very own Ms. Sarah Kuhn will release her own novella in October, One Con Glory, a twisty romantic comedy for the obsessive fangirl in everyone. Originally serialized in our e-zine Grok, the book will feature an expanded and revised version of the story, bonus material, and sketches by some of the leading lights of the webcomics movement. Read Julie’s blog!
And of course, our e-zine Grok trucks ever forward. We’re gearing up for issue 5 before the end of the year, with a theme of “retcon.” Should be fun.
It’s gonna be a great fall. We’re very excited, and as ever, thankful for your support, your links, your reading and your comments. We hope you like these things we do. It’s all incredibly fun, and it’s about ten bazillion times more fun if even just one of you out there in InternetLand enjoys any of it.
So let’s do this!
Stuff We Like This Week: September 18 Edition
Sep 18
In an effort to combat our occasional…okay, okay, near-constant negativity, we give you a regular feature full of nothing but love — Stuff We Like This Week. Appearing every Friday, SWLTW will recap the things that have set our little nerdly hearts aflame within the past seven days.
District 9
Sep 17So I realize I’m weeks behind here, but we finally got out to the movies last weekend, and after a fine meal of cuban food and sangria, we saw District 9.
It’s an astonishingly great movie, only “astonishing” because even though the hype and reviews had prepared me for something enjoyable, I never expected it to really fire on absolutely every cylinder, and work on nearly every level. It’s an action flick, it’s a sci-fi think piece, it’s got twisted humor and great performances, the FX is discrete and effective.it’s really got everything.
Astonishing.
New Blog: Trouble With Comics
Sep 14
Because I don’t have enough to do already with my infinite reserves of leisure time, and because I just can’t stop these fingers moving over these keys, I’ve accepted Alan David Doane’s gracious invitation to join the motley crew over at Trouble With Comics.
I hope to post as much as possible over there; at this point, I’m thinking mainly short link pieces. But my main contribution will be up soon (I hope): A new regular column on one of my favorite subjects. Here’s a clue:
