DOCTOR… WHO? – There’s some important birthday or anniversary going on this week and Dr. Who fans everywhere are busy geekgasming and sliding off their chairs in their own excitement. I’ve never watched Dr. Who myself and don’t ask me to because it looks awful and the answer is no.
50 Shades of NO WAY – There’s a report spreading around the Interwebs about an experiment some sciencey people conducted on a few 50 Shades of Grey books from a library. Apparently traces of herpes were found on them. I found this both hilarious and disgusting. Then I thought to myself, surely all sorts of things can be found on library books? I read this article and discovered that this indeed was the case, as it noted that cocaine was found on certain books too. Enough of it to get into the bloodstream and actually show up on a test. I didn’t learn much from this discovery other than the fact that I’ve obviously been reading the wrong books.
LOOK INTO MY EYE-MASK – In Arrow news, we found out this week that our Oliver is ditching the green eyeshadow and will be donning an actual mask to hide his identity soon. In announcements that are becoming weekly in their frequency we’re also told of yet another new cast member. Katrina Law (or Skeletor Face as my brother affectionately calls her) will join the ever-increasing ranks as Nyssa al Ghul, Ra’s al Ghul’s other daughter, completing the Spartacus trinity. It’s also reported that character Barry Allen is set to appear, but not as The Flash, as that’ll be a special pilot and another cow milked for another day.
Heated discussions break out on social media as eagle-eyed Irish fans of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. note that footage in the latest episode, “The Well”, is found to be real video clips of the 2006 riots in Dublin’s O’Connell Street, and not make-believe footage of riots in Oslo. Fans here are split in their opinions, with some believing it to be a MONUMENTAL MESS UP FROM OUR MARVEL MATES, and others, myself included, believing that nobody should give a continental crap.
And finally, MICROSOFT HAVE THEIR DAY as the X-box One gets a worldwide release. I won’t be able to get my hands on one until Monday, as I’ve to wait for an extra special bunduru, but numbers quickly matched and will probably soon exceed those of Sony’s PS4 exclusive release in the States. For up to the minute articles and reviews regarding the initial impressions and documented problems with the day one release of both consoles, check out JohnHeatz.com.
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As you can see, this has been a sparse week at The Spew with a tally of zero reviews from myself, and the last post being, shamefully, last week’s Sunday Spew. I remain positive that soon this drought will cease and my schedule will allow me to return to regular posting. This doesn’t mean, however, that I’ve stopped reading. There have been some wonderful bloggers entertaining me this week. Here’s my cream of the crop:
The Dad, Gentleman Geek contributed a NEXT-GEN NOTE TO FANBOYS to the 1001-Up team, wherein he imparts an important message regarding the participants of console wars. This week saw the release of the latest Hunger Games installment, Catching Fire, and among some of the most excellent reviews of same Tom from Digital Shortbread caught my attention with a top marks review. Table9Mutant from Cinema Parrot Disco also contributed a highly entertaining review of the lackluster Lockout to the lovely Cara and her Silver Screen Serenade NOOOOvember feature. And finally, with one of the most original and hilarious reviews I’ve ever read, Brian from Hard Ticket to Home Video made his De Niro debut for the You Talkin To Me? blogathon, and subsequently gave us his own epic take on The Deer Hunter.
There have been so many fantastic posts this week that I know I’ve failed to mention. Forgive me, I’m really hungover and all I’m really capable of doing right now is typing a few sentences while taking intermittent breaks to stare off into space. Speaking of, I had a thought this week while attempting to finish up a work project. I wondered what would happen if I just took an afternoon stroll and maybe caught an afternoon flick in the Savoy. Would anyone notice that I was gone? The answer is yes, they would, but I’ve convinced myself to do it anyway tomorrow. Why? Because Monday. Yes, Monday.
In other blog related news I have been invited to join the John Heatz Dream Team (that’s what I’m calling us, the other team members have no choice) and will hopefully be contributing plenty of gaming focused goodness in the near future. Stay tuned to JohnHeatz.com to read some of the excellent posts, articles and reviews the team have already submitted, and keep an eye out for future surprises in the pipeline. My thanks to Alex Raphael, Drakulus and Kevin from The Mental Attic for their kind Sunshine Award nominations. As always I am much obliged and thankful for your continued support.
Have you anything to add? Tell me your news below!
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That’s all from me for now, I’ll leave you with this picture of a dog dressed as Yoda.
Yodog.
Categories: News
[NEWS] The Sunday Spew (22nd February 2015) 
[NEWS] The Monday Spew (16th June 2014) 
[NEWS] The Sunday Spew (25th May 2014) 
[NEWS] The Sunday Spew (18th May 2014) 
The Verbal Spew Review 
The John Heatz Dream Team? lol, hahah, seriously…OOh Avengers beware :-)
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That was really funny, I had to reply again, hahahahaha
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I call Iron Man! It’s all about the suit.
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Damn, I wanted the suit:-( I wonder if I’ll look good in either thor’s getup or captain America’s
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You guys can keep The Avengers i’m dressing up as Superman :]
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Ok fine, go as supes but just please don’t take down the site with wanton destruction, lol
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:D
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You strike me as more the Captain America type.
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holy shit, that’s the quite the compliment (he says as he sucks in his stomach and stands up straight, struggling to breath, lol) Which article made you think I was Captain America? Cause I like that, lol. You be Iron Man, I’ll be Captain America
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:D
You just strike me as more Captain America than anyone else. Maybe it’s that look in your avatar. Maybe it’s your writing style. Maybe it’s your gentlemanly manner. I know not, Mr. Rogers, but if the shoe fits!
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I thought the naughty comment on Dr. Who would be worse hahahaha…The Whovian in me wants to tell you to give Dr. Who another shot, but I know it’s not for everyone :)
And I didn’t know the arrow mask thing…it’s about damn time!! The eyeliner was getting a bit ridiculous :P
I wonder, would people have been as offended by the Marvel thing if it had been a riot from someplace else? I think not.
Fantastic review for the day…now go sleep and get over that hangover (hey that rhymed!)
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If you could name one episode specifically that you believed would hook me on Dr. Who then I’d be willing to watch it. For ten minutes at least. To be honest though, I don’t get the appeal at all.
Yes it really is about time Oliver got a mask ffs. Eyeshadow and an ill-fitting hood! Seriously!? It’s almost as bad as Clark Kent! :D
Well Irish people wouldn’t have been offended if it was footage from elsewhere, and people from elsewhere wouldn’t be offended by footage from Ireland. Here it’s a touchy subject for some because those riots took place only a few years ago and were as a result of people from the Republic protesting an Orangemen march in our capital, that order being made up of people from Northern Ireland. There’s history there, I guess some people were offended by the footage being used for a fictional superhero TV show.
Thank you my dear! I had a nap, it was delightful.
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Ok, I’ll find you a good Doctor Who episode, and you’ll write down your impressions minute by minute :)
Hmm, with that context, I can understand now why it might be offensive for some people.
I still have my roundup to write and then go to sleep and being another annoying work week hahaha
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Deal! :D
Ugh. Another weekend ended, another Monday tomorrow. But your round-up should be interesting, a few things did happen this week. I’ll reply to your email now before I hit the hay.
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“Blink” is often the best answer for your inquiry. It requires almost no knowledge of Doctor Who to enjoy.
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Many thanks for the suggestion. This one I will try. Even though I said I wouldn’t, I should, I’m obviously very close-minded when I’m hungover on Sundays.
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I appreciate that you’d take my suggestion.
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Agree with you about Doctor Who. I occasionally watch it, last night’s 50th anniversary special for instance, but I still don’t get it or like it much. Everything seems to get solved with a sonic screwdriver.
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Yes! I’m not alone. Everyone else seems to have come down with Whovian fever. Although I can’t slag too much because I like plenty of stuff other people can’t stand. ;)
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Thanks for the shoutout, lady! Loving these Spews (not something you can say in normal conversation), and I also adore these costumed pug pics. I’m convinced that a pug can pull off just about any nerdy costume ever.
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Very welcome! I’ve made it my mission to unearth every single costumed pug pic I can on the internet. Sometimes I think I’m just using these posts as an excuse to show them off. :D
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That is quite possibly the best mission I’ve ever heard of. :D
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Katrina Law has a Skeletor face? I couldn’t tell. I did a google image search on her, but my focus kept drifiting towards the chest region. Arrow is abandoning eye liner for a mask? Can’t he do both like the old Batman movies?
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You need to watch Spartacus my friend. You’ll get so used to the bronzed, bare and toned bodies that eventually they’ll lose all meaning and you begin to notice things like faces. :D
I bet Arrow will still rock the guyliner along with the mask.
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This is why I love eBooks. They are free of STDs, sperm, carcinogens, and illegal substances.
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Exactly. When I read about that I couldn’t help but think… e-readers people. Read your poorly written 50 Shades erotica on an e-reader.
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Yes, the screen wipes off!
Too much?
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Hehehehe! :D
No, just right.
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Oh, you’d think so, right? WRONG: http://www.livescience.com/22822-cell-phones-germs.html
Betcha think twice about taking that e-reader into the loo…
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NO ONE touches my phone. I spent hundreds of dollars on it and I forgo a case because I know that I won’t hurt it. Other people? No so much.
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This post has opened up all kinds of cans of worms that I didn’t want to open. I’d say computer keyboards are hot beds too.
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Heh. I say a few Weeping Angels sent your way will have you begging for the Doctor to come rescue you. You still might not watch the show, but you’ll at least “get” it a bit more…
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That was very creepy. I’m assuming there’s undertones of humour there… but that was scary in its simplicity. :O
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Oddly enough (or innnnnnterestingly enough), that clip is from the episode you were recommended. “Blink” is a nice “entry point” for a few reasons. For the record, I hated Doctor Who for ages (I grew up when it was running on PBS here in the late 70’s and through the 80’s, I believe), but my younger brother was ALWAYS watching it and I ended up slowly sliding into liking the shows during the Tom Baker era (4th Doctor). It’s been on and off since, but the revival really caught me thanks to the better scripts and Torchwood spin-off mini-series.
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Ooohh. That is interesting, it must be a sign. I remember seeing a clip of an older episode (can’t remember which doctor, but people were wearing flairs in it) and being struck by how awful it was. Awful effects, awful acting…
But the again you could probably say the same about Star Trek, and I love that! By that logic I should try an episode.
Do you watch Community? They do a great rip-off called Inspector Spacetime. :D
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I’ve not watched a new network sitcom in AGES, but I have heard of Inspector Spacetime from a few friends who LOVE Community. I guess I’ll be borrowing that set of DVD’s from a friend soon, then.
The interesting thing about Doctor Who is it’s always been a kids show from the beginning, but thanks to some memorable characters and writing, it’s risen above that “kiddie” thing. Also, if you’re into Neil Gaiman’s work, he wrote two of the better episodes “The Doctor’s Wife” and “Nightmare in Silver”.
And yeah, there’s a DEFINITE Star Trek corollary between the quality of those original episodes and the writing. I thought the show was dull as hell as a kid, but as I got older, I got it (and how). THat said, 50 years of episodes means some Doctors and shows are duds, but nothing is perfect and the way the show has brought back some ancient enemies in new forms has been pretty cool…
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Definitely recommend Community, it’s hilarious more often than not.
I am actually a Gaiman fan, that has certainly helped to pique more interest. You really have made a great argument here, one I can understand and appreciate. I’ll start with the episodes you’ve suggested (and the creepy “Blink” angel statue one and go from there. Perhaps for me it would be best to focus on the modern adaptations.
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BBC and BBC America ran a series of shows about each Doctor from the first to eleventh that was a half hour of info and interviews with cast members and writers followed by a two-part episode from each season selected as memorable. For me, that was a good way to see stuff I hadn’t as well as get a few friends to check out the history of the show.
For new-new people, I recommend the series in its 2005 and up revival, as it’s definitely more modern and appealing on some fronts, you get some great Doctors from Christoper Eccleston to Matt Smith along with some surprisingly fun writing. Amusingly, for what’s supposed to be a “children’s” show a lot of people die during the series’ run. But I like that the show has never tried to sugar-coat stuff like that.
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I would actually recommend starting after Eccleston, even though he is my favorite Doctor. His first five episodes can be seen as very hokey and cheesy, by someone who is not in the mindset to really accept Doctor Who’s style of writing. If you are going to start with Eccleston you must really commit yourself to making it to episode 8 (Father’s Day) or at the very least, episode 6 (Dalek).
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Good advice. Hokey and cheesy dialogue has its place in some shows I genuinely enjoy, but having said that if I was hit with it from the get-go, and constantly, I’d probably get frustrated.
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I’m a big fan of realism within unrealistic premises, and I do love writers who are not afraid to kill off the main characters. Where is the “Blink” episode in the doctor timeline? I’ll watch that, as it seems to be a unanimous starter episode, and then if I like it, go from 2005.
Thanks for all of the great insight into the show by the way, there’s no way I would have looked into any of this for myself, and who knows, that could have meant that I’d miss out on something so many people I know (and respect) enjoy.
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“Blink” is near the end on Season 3, which is Tennant’s second season. It stars Carey Mulligan who you might recognize from Drive and The Great Gatsby (2013).
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I recognised Carey Mulligan alright, was surprised to see her, I’d no idea she’d been in Dr. Who.
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Not that I like to toot my own blog’s horn, but we just published an article on the subject of where to start Doctor Who.
http://snippetstudios.com/2013/12/04/new-to-who-a-doctor-who-watching-guide/
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Toot on son, toot on! Seriously that’s a good resource for new Who fans. I wouldn’t have had a clue where to start if you guys hadn’t chimed in here.
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Ah, good. I was tied up for a bit, but the others have taken care of you. Also, Carey Milligan was in Shame with Michael Fassbender, but that’s one of those films people might not admit to others they’ve seen, lol…
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You know I’ve seen quite a few reviews of that and even though they’ve been predominantly negative I still want to see it… ;D
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You’re becoming a major force in the internet reviews! I’m so proud! I made the first comment on “About V” last summer and, in just a few short months, I’ve watched you go from nascent blogger to the cusp of stardom and greatness. I can’t wait to read your work on JohnHeatz.com! Who knows, maybe we’ll see you expanding your reach further than that.
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It never rains but it pours, JF! Or that’s how things seem around here at the mo. In December I’ll be six months a blogger, it seems like much longer than that. You were there in the beginning, my first comment and my first supporter. So happy to have made your acquaintance and to have had the opportunity to get to know your wonderful self. Here’s to six months more of the same!
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Even without the cool post, I’d have given the like just for that photo at the end ;)And don’t bee too hard on yourself. I still need to write up the review for Gravity and saw Hunger Games 2 earlier today.
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Ooh, looking forward to reading those. Give me a sneak peak though, Gravity and Catching Fire, did you enjoy both?
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I liked Gravity, it’s visually astonishing. But there are plot holes. The first of the HG series was good, but the second one is a lot tighter and can’t wait for the third in the series.
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Sounds promising!
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How ’bout bed bugs in library books? That happened in my city.
Gee, I hope all this negative talk about books doesn’t discourage people from reading. Oh well, I’m sure cocaine and bed bugs are nothing to worry about…
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:O Bed bugs! That actually would freak me out more than the Class A drugs. Hate those little feckers.
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Unless you’ve been taking out library books to snort that free coke and get a snoot full of bedbugs instead. Yuk. Just say NO to drugs, kids! ;^P
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So another reason to read electronic books or listen to them in mp3 form…..or you should start wearing protection when getting books from the library ;)
So you are going to get a XBox One, what’s the reason you went for that one instead of the PS4? Won’t be buying either of them any time soon (still way too many games to finish for my current console). Not decided yet what I’ll eventually will be getting.
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I was actually leaning toward the PS (for the first time ever) but the boyf is a Sony fan so when I realised he’ll be getting the PS4 I thought I should go with the Xbone, that way I’ll have the best of both worlds! Not that it matters too much at this early stage with all the cross console game releases, but it’ll be nice to be able to do a complete comparison.
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I’m leaning towards PS a bit. I’ve got a 360 now and even though I have a Kinect I never use it. Knowing that it has to be connected all the time for the new one is not something I’m a fan of. Like you say the exclusives are currently not that much of a differentiator…
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Indeed, I was leaning toward the PS4 myself for a good while. Can completely understand the lack of enthusiasm for the Xbone considering everything that comes along with it, that you NEED to do or use in order to get the full experience.
It is pretty spiffy though! Shiny new things… :D
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I put cocaine in all my books.
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New meaning to reading lines.
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Wow…you are a lot more up-to-date on Arrow news than me & thank you for the 411!
Lots of interesting news outta this post but you forgot one thing…Nintendo is now offering a Wii U Bunduru & marking 97% off on all their items this Black Friday #Winteriscoming
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Wii U Bunduru!
How could I have missed that!? :D I’m so jealous of you all with your Black Friday!
LOL. #Winteriscoming
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Vee…I just want you to know…
if I don’t survive the darkness this Friday…i want you to know that i love…i love….i love your blog! Peace Out My Friend…. :(
#princesskenny
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HAHA!
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Cheers V, thanks for the plug!!
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Welcome Tom!
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Oh man, there goes my love for the used book store.
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Those wanton 50 Shades hussies ruin everything. >:(
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Thanks for that info on 50 Shades of Grey – I will now never borrow that from the library! Not that I was going to read that crap anyway. ;-) And thanks for the mention of my Lockout review! :-) I had no idea – I’m now trying to catch up on two weeks of reading blogs so I can see I’ll be getting no housework done today…
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Welcome! Two weeks of blog reading… Crap, don’t envy you. It takes me nearly two hours per day to get through my Reader. And then they all go and post more. Vicious circle.
Not that I’m complaining, I love them all really… ;D Blow off the housework and have some snacks with your reading instead.
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