This Week in Geek (8-14/09/08)

Buys

Crazy mother&@%# week at work. Thus, no time for consuming.

"Accomplishments"

DVDs: I watched Season 5 of The Wire as soon as I got it, but I took my time going through the extras (not by choice). But it's done, the entire series has been "flipped". And what a ride. In the last season, David Simon and crew added the media to Baltimore's ever-growing world, which basically means I was outraged half the time (in a good way, a professional deformation). They even managed to wrap up all the character arcs in a satisfactory manner despite only being 10 too-short episodes. Good extras complete the package, a couple of documentaries and commentary on half the eps. The whole thing is destined for rewatching, probably sooner than later.

Another DVD I've been working on for a couple of weeks is the Complete Spaced DVD. If you haven't discovered this little British gem by the makers of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz yet, you really have to check it out. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. From now on, when I hear people talk about the just awful Big Bang Theory like it was the TV God's gift to geeks, I'll know to throw them real manna, and that's Spaced. The DVD package is pretty great, with a plenty of outtakes and deleted scenes, a geek reference text feature, 2 commentary tracks per episode (the American version with guest stars like Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Diablo Cody), a long documentary, a fun Q&A, and some of the only text features I've ever liked on DVD. Get it, cuz if you read my blog, you're likely already living it.

And there's the second series of Extras, in which Ricky Gervais' character does get a sitcom and it's complete bollocks. Gets away from the format of having Andy and Maggie on the set of a different film every episode (though there is some of that anyway), but focuses on the pitfalls of success and selling out instead. Best guest-star: Sir Ian McKellan. Most surprising: Dame Diana Riggs. The DVD has plenty of features, from documentaries on each episode to outtakes, but none of the deleted scenes advertised on the box. There's also a weird featurette on how Gervais tortures his editor, and a shorter piece on corpsing. A perfect DVD for it, as I sometimes wonder how Gervais gets any work done.

Comics: No, I'm not going to talk about something I've read, but rather something I've done. Bass needed another week's break, so I chipped in a new Sniper Ninja Bears strip. Here it is, but don't forget to check out the whole thing by following the above-mentioned link.
New Unauthorized Doctor Who CCG cards: 31 cards from Series 3's finale, The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords. I'm ALMOST done with those episodes, and still I feel like I'm criminally cutting it down.

Someone Else's Post of the Week
Doctor K's teaching story is quite wonderful and geeky. It's called Great Moments in Pedagogy, and all I can say is, yes, yes it is.

Comments

De said…
I watched the first five episodes of Spaced almost a year ago and was frothing at the mouth for more. The DVD set is one of the best things since pop tarts.

The rant about The Rocky Horror Picture Show sums up my feelings on that "phenomenon" quite well.
Dr. K said…
Hey, Siskoid: Thanks for the link!