Ramblings on Music, Texas, Etc.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Annual Geek Alert

This is my traditional time of year for catching up on my geek passions, while waiting for the annual new music drought to end.  Xbox games received as gifts coupled with too much free time usually find me dorking out with some of the usual suspects...

• Battlestar Galactica webisodes
  Only about two more weeks before the final 10 episodes get rolling, but you can feed you frack with some five-minute shorts on the SciFi Channel's website.  Bonus geek points:  you can listen to the webisodes with commentary from Jane Espenson.  The first half of Season 4 will be released on DVD this week.

• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360)
  I wasn't very impressed by the demo version of this game, but the real deal is pretty fun and happens to have one of the best storylines of any Star Wars product in recent memory.  Fans will be pleased to know the events in the game take place much closer to Ep. IV than Ep. III.  Bonus geek points:  you can download an extra chapter ($10) and two "character packs" ($5 each) that allow you to play the game as different geektastical Star Wars characters.

• Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 8
  The ongoing revival of Buffy in Dark Horse Comics just completed it's coolest story arc yet, with the meeting of Buffy and future slayer Fray.  Fray is one of my all-time favorite graphic novels, and the return of Karl Moline for the arc was a real treat.

• The X-Files
  Received Seasons 1 & 2 on DVD as gifts.  Nice!

• Jeffrey Overstreet's Auralia's Colors and Cyndere's Midnight
  I'm on a mission to complete these first two installments of Overstreet's fantasy trilogy (with the third on the way in 2009).  I'm restarting Auralia, but his natural prose makes re-reading the first half a pleasure.  These books have been very positively reviewed, and I feel like a loser for not finishing them earlier.  Plenty more info over at Jeffrey's site.

I'm also embarking on a project this week to size down my DVD collection by ditching many of the amaray cases in favor of CD/DVD storage binders.  Not every last title (gotta keep those Criterions), but I'm on a 2009 mission to free up shelf space.  CD jewel boxes, you're next!

Cause ya gotta have Faith...

Just got back, and I noticed that Dark Horse has posted a Buffy newsletter update.  And apparently, we have much to look forward to:

 

Buffy Season 8, #1 (review)

It will come as a shock to absolutely no one that I was completely impressed by the Joss Whedon-penned first issue of Buffy Season 8.  The setup will be no surprise to anyone who followed Buffy and Angel closely (particularly the latter).  With the awakening of all potential slayers around the globe (in Season 7 of the TV show), Buffy and the gang find themselves leading a multi-national force of demon fighters.  Though Giles and Willow are referenced, only Buffy, Dawn and Xander are featured in the first issue.  Xander finds himself manning "mission control", and Dawn finds herself stuck in a hilarious - though largely unexplained - dilemma.

In the meantime, the U.S. government has clearly marked the new Slayer organization as a threat, blaming the destruction of Sunnydale on Buffy.  As they investigate the crater that used to be Sunnydale, the Army discovers a survivor.  The identity of that person is revealed on the last page - hint: it's not an omigod-I-can't-believe-it's-him-character, but it is someone who could probably compromise Buffy and her troops.  Should be an interesting story arc.

There is one other interesting plot line that appears to be a piece of a larger puzzle, likely to last throughout the Season 8 series, but we'll have to see.  Overall, Buffy Season 8 seems to be off to a great start.  Already in its second printing, the series also appears to be a smash hit for Dark Horse Comics.

It is here...

Geek alert: The first issue of Buffy Season 8 has shipped, and is on the way to my house.  I'm expecting delivery today or tomorrow - I'll be sure to post my initial thoughts as soon as it arrives.

For those of you who don't recognize the Joss Whedon-penned comic series as a major, earth-shattering event, you've stumbled upon the wrong blog.

CORRECTION:  It is NOT here yet - it shipped today.  Probably have to wait til next week for any feedback (you're crushed and disillusioned, I know).