[Greg loved it when people asked him questions about so-called “geeky” things, because he was the resident pop culture weirdo in so many people’s lives! In this post, from 6 December 2014, he talks about some questions people had asked him about geek stuff! I wonder how some commenters (*coughEdocough*) now feel about Cumberbatch as Strange? If only he could somehow comment here to let us know! Enjoy!]
I don’t know why this ramps up the way it does every year around this time, but it always does. People ask me things. I mean, non-fan sorts of people.
Maybe it’s Christmas shopping. There are an AWFUL lot of co-workers and friends of friends that ask me about what to get for their nerd relatives. But many times, it’s much more general. You know … some news item comes out and it’s big enough to make the non-geek media, and then the next day at work it becomes water-cooler conversation. Since I’m generally the geekiest guy in the room, they turn to me expectantly and ask me to dispense the Expert Nerd Ruling on the matter, ideally with added gossip no one else knows. [Edit: Or wants to know, amirite, people who get asked questions only nerds know? Nerds love to blather!!!!]
Just for fun, I thought I’d put a few of these questions (and answers, naturally) up here for you all. Believe it or not, this is all just from this week and each one is from a different person at a different workplace. I bet a bunch of you have been getting these too.
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Did you see the new STAR WARS trailer? What did you think?
Did I see it? Are you kidding? Eighteen different people emailed it, Facebooked it, or tweeted it to me within an hour of its going live. Finally I caved and clicked on one of the links.
As for what I thought, well … first, you have to understand that I’m much more of a Star Trek guy than a Star Wars guy. I like Star Wars okay, but I just don’t have the investment in it dating back to earliest childhood the way some of you guys do. So when the newer trilogy came out and it wasn’t a patch on the older one, it didn’t enrage me the way it did so many other fans because I wasn’t expecting much in the first place. I think us Trek types have thicker skins because we get disappointed or annoyed way more often than the Star Wars fans do.
Really. Way, WAY more often.
As for what I thought about the trailer itself? I couldn’t begin to guess. I hope that the Star Wars fans get the Mission: Impossible version of J.J. Abrams where he seemed to understand the basic concept of the thing, and not the Star Trek version of Abrams where he is obsessed with one particular episode or moment from the older version to the point where he embarrasses himself by practically begging people to compare his to that. Because it never ends well.
It’d also be nice if the plot was coherent and wasn’t a ridiculous mishmash of set pieces that make no sense when viewed all in a row. (Yes, I’m still irritated about Into Darkness. We paid to see that in a theater on its opening weekend.)
Anyway. I hope that for The Force Awakens the story’s good. I’m a story guy, that’s what I care about. Casting’s not really my issue but the fact that they got the original actors back is a good sign. Because none of them need the money and several have been pretty vocal about how NOT fun the original Star Wars experience was for them.
Apart from that, the things that really bothered people about the trailer, or anyway that bothered some embarrassingly vocal fans on the internet, I actually see as hopeful signs.
For example, the Stormtrooper shot that really upset a savagely vocal subset of fans. Without voicing an opinion as to WHY that was a problem for those folks, although I certainly have one, I’ll just say this: The fact that a Stormtrooper was shown without his headgear suggests that they’re going to be treated as people and not just human bowling pins for the heroes to knock down. That’s a GOOD thing and it bodes well for the approach they’re taking to the story. So I guess cautiously hopeful is how I feel about it.
But you should get an actual Star Wars fan to weigh in. I’m a Trek guy and it’s kind of like dog people and cat people.
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Well, what about Star Trek? Are you excited about the new one?
Hell yes I am. MIND-SIFTER premiered on December 1 and it was everything I’d hoped for. My wife Julie loved it too.
No, no, not THAT one.
Well, we really dug FAIREST OF THEM ALL from Star Trek Continues, too. Best one yet from them. Just terrific writing and a wonderful respect for the original, and we thought the actors pulled it off okay.
The original “Mirror, Mirror” is one of my favorites anyway and the idea of telling the story of what happened afterward with Mirror Spock’s mutiny pretty much had me at hello. Trekkies have speculated about that one for years.
No, I mean the —
Yes, I know what you mean, I’m just messing with you. But these fan films are actually much, much closer to the original Star Trek than the new big-budget movies are. Phase II even has both David Gerrold and D.C. Fontana working as production consultants and they’re writing for them as well.
But if you insist I offer an opinion about the movies? I’m glad Roberto Orci’s not directing any more. And I’m especially glad he huffed off in a huff over the script, because that tells me that it’s been scrapped and so someone else is probably writing it now. That to me is great news. Orci’s idea of Star Trek is not mine.
The rumors about Edgar Wright taking over are probably so much wishful thinking but if he does get it, more power to him. Nicholas Meyer and Harve Bennett proved way back when with Wrath of Khan that a set of fresh eyes not normally known for SF, BUT still experienced and with a track record of good stuff, can really help a troubled franchise.
At the end of the day, though, I still like the fan stuff — semi-pro, really, considering who’s involved with them — better than I do either of the new Abrams Trek movies. You should check those out if you are a Star Trek person. Phase II is here — Star Trek Continues is here. [Edit: It looks like the Phase II site is completely gone. Sorry!]
I’m very fond of Starship Farragut, too. As long as I’m spreading the word about cool fan films.
Those can be found here.
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So what did you think of the new James Bond announcement?
Honestly? I’m so damn excited that they settled the silly legal stuff with Kevin McClory’s estate over Blofeld and SPECTRE that I almost don’t care about any of the rest of it. This business of calling the bad guy’s outfit QUANTUM never worked for me. The evil organization that James Bond has to save the world from is the Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion. Abbreviated as SPECTRE. And it’s headed by Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Period. Full stop.
White cat optional. I’m not a purist about that.
As for the rest of it, well, I hope the movie’s good. So far the Craig movies aren’t disappointing me (though I must be the one guy in the world that thinks Skyfall was kind of a hot mess) and I have a good feeling about this new one. But I’m always cautiously hopeful till I get into the theater.
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What did you think about Benedict Cumberbatch being cast as Dr. Strange?
Sounds fine to me. I think he’s talented and conscientious and will work hard to do a good job. What’s to be unhappy about there?
Of course, I said the same thing about Ben Affleck as Batman while the rest of the internet was throwing a fit, so chances are someone will find something to be crabby about regarding the casting. Me, I just want the movie to be about the Sorcerer Supreme I liked from the cosmic Englehart-Brunner-Colan days, and not the vaguely douchey guy that was showing up in the Bendis Avengers comics.
And I very much hope that they won’t do an origin movie, but instead that the story opens with Strange already established as a sort of consultant for people with occult problems in Greenwich Village. You can do it as a flashback or something if you MUST have the backstory in there, but even Stan Lee and Steve Ditko didn’t start with the origin. I’d like the moviemakers to, just once, START with the cool stuff instead of making us wait half the movie to get there.
Knowing Hollywood, though, that’s probably just a pipe dream. [Edit: As indeed it was!]
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I have no idea what to get my nerdy friend/relative/whoever for Christmas. They’re horrible to buy for, they always get stuff for themselves before I have a chance to get it for them.
Well, you know, I have a couple of books out … [Edit: Something funny happened at that link, if you check it out. Here’s a better one.]
… what? Did you think I’d pass up an opportunity like that?
Seriously, though, here’s the thing. Books and video, you probably are indeed screwed. We totally do treat ourselves to that stuff before loved ones ever get a chance. So you get them a fun T-shirt and a gift certificate to the nerd emporium of their choice.
If you don’t know what their preferred comic shop or bookstore is, Amazon will do.
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Anyway. That was this week. I’ll be back here with more stuff at the end of the next one. See you then.
Well, I have to say, I ended up rather liking Mr. Cucumberpatch as Doc Strange, even though he did play him as “vaguely douchey”. However, there’s still a sufficient measure of the classic guy I recall from the comics of the ’70s and ’80s.
And I my point that Monica Bellucci makes everything better still stands…
I’m one of those weirdos who thinks Star Trek: Nemesis and Into Darkness are Good, Actually. (There are dozens of us! Dozens!) Nemesis has horny Tom Hardy as a vampiric Bane prototype, plus Ron Perlman as a Space Nosferatu. And Into Darkness is exciting as hell and really only falls apart in the last ten minutes or so.
Beyond was also good.
Whereas I think Spectre turned out to be the weakest of the Craig Bonds. Yes, weaker than Quantum of Solace, which grew on me over the years.
Cumberbatch is perfect casting for Strange, though I wish they just let him be English instead of doing an impression of Hugh Laurie’s House voice.
Like a lot of British actors playing American Cumberpatch’s voice is unnaturally accentless.
Nothing will improve Quantum of Solace for me, and I’ve watched it a couple of times since it came out.
Didn’t care for Abrams Trek, nor his Star Wars; but, for different reasons. Trek because it felt like a dumbed down mess to ramp up action and I don’t care much for the tweaks to characters and also was bored for his lens flare gimmick about the second time it turned up on screen. I don’t get bent out of shape about it, because the original series and the movies with that cast (with a couple of exceptions) are outstanding. None of the other series ever wowed me or excited me. They were fine, but lacked the swashbuckling side of things that I always liked, got a little too PC at times, without ever resolving issues like giving the women stronger roles in things (even Janeway…Genvieve Bujold would have been far more interesting) or the kinds of thought that went into Babylon 5 or the revamped BSG, which I found far more engaging Even so, that was better than Abrams’ stuff.
Star Wars hasn’t been really good since Archie Goodwin wrote the comics. I like Zahn’s stuff well enough; but, nowhere near the level that Archie Goodwin’s stories had. I’ll take Baron Tagge over Grand Admiral Thrawn, Kylo Ren or a revived Emperor any day. Also, Valance was way cooler than any Mandalorian.
The only Craig movie I liked, for the most part, was Casino Royale. That is, up until they abandoned the novel and threw in 9/11 metaphors. For me, that is the problem with the rest of his series: every single one is a 9/11 metaphor of random shocking attacks and chickens coming home to roost for the intelligence services. I got enough of that on the 6:00 news; I want escapism with my James Bond, which is why I found the first two Kingsman films (haven’t watched the third yet) and The Man From UNCLE film waaaaaay more. They were spy-fi fun; not socio-political statements by pretentious directors and hack writers, with luxury product placement. Also, I found Craigs take on who Bond is rather dull. He was far more interesting in The Layer Cake and far more James Bond-like, as well.
Bandersnatch was decent as Dr Strange; but, I thought they could have jazzed up their scripts. There is too much of a sameness to the Marvel films and Strange should not be the same movie feel as Iron Man or Thor. Parts of it seemed to aspire to that and then parts just seemed to be cut and paste from previous film scripts. Wong was awesome; The Ancient One felt cliched, regardless of gender or ethnicity.
You know, come to think of it, Clyde Kusatsu was more interesting in the tv Dr Strange Pilot than Peter Van Hooten. Let’s get on a Wong franchise; he rocks!
I’d rather see filmmakers get more daring with DC and Marvel properties and dig into the way cooler back catalogs. First one I want is a Dominic Fortune period piece, with plenty of pulpy, swashbuckling daring do…..and sex and stylish clothing, since it was a Chaykin creation. After that, we can discuss my ideas for adapting Killraven, The Warlord, The Metal Men, Blackhawk, The Viking Prince, Enemy Ace, Rex The Wonder Dog and Detective Chimp.
Oh, and note to Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg; I want Sam Glanzman’s A Sailor’s Story and USS Stevens stories turned into an 8-10 part mini-series and I want it soon. Chop-chop!