Creating (Hyper) Tension

The aim of most shows is to get you to continue watching through the ads. (Okay, so some shows have this potential idea of actually telling an interesting story, but ultimately it's all about the ad revenue... unless you're on cable, but even then... anyway...) This is why there are mini cliff-hangers, usually badly contrived, to make the viewer go "Sheppard got shot? I must keep watching!" or "Will Victor realise that Denise was behind it all? I must keep watching!" or "Timmy's down the well? I've never seen that before, I must keep watching!" And so on...

And then there's getting the viewer back every week to see the next installment. Some will have explicit cliffhangers (hello old Doctor Who), some will hope the overarcing story will keep people tuned, some hope there is still some sense of mystery of "who will be voted off next week?". Fine, whatever they need.

But to get to the end of The Mole episode 9 and find out that... they'll reveal next week!!! That's just incredibly annoying! I just sat through an entire episode, and there was no payoff! I could have skipped it and be exactly where I started it from! I was going to watch episode 10 anyway, when they reveal the behind the scenes stuff, but that's just getting petty. Do they really think the audience will just walk away after 9 episodes if they reveal the answer? (Okay, so some would, but enough to impact the ratings? I'm not so sure.)

So, yes, I will be watching next week, but they better reveal the answer quick or... I'll just keep watching through the ad breaks, I guess...

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HC Again

So while I didn't play on Saturday... I did shark in on Sunday! (Sharking being the term we use for those who are on Skype, waiting for a chance to get in when others fall off.)

And speaking of, you'll hear the start of an ugly sharking situation where someone gets treated in a way that lead to major disagreement. I wasn't aware of the full details of the situation, but I still had a hand in it.

As for the case itself, it was a standard CSI type, although not what the obvious conclusion was. Fortunately, one of our players was insisting on the non-obvious conclusion, and so we cracked it all (due in no small part to me, I say modestly). Jury: , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

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I Don't Want To Believe

Oh. Dear. No.

What was Chris Carter thinking? I know the latest X-Files movie wasn't going to be a part of the huge mythology... but I was at least hoping for a decent movie in itself!

What do all episodes of the actual series have? Some major paranormal component (except for some episodes which just had lots of long shots that were meant to be meaningful but were just boring). The paranormal here? Billy Connelly. That's about it. And the big conspiracy... what a freaking waste of time! This isn't X-Files. It's barely even a cop show episode.

It is, however, whiny. As the entry's FAQ puts it, it's a Shipper episode. And how. This also makes it really boring. Does Chris Carter think we want to know about the in depth relationships of characters that haven't been on screen for six years? (And it really only makes sense to those that have been watching the series. I don't know if anyone who hasn't seen the show has seen this, but I doubt they would get a good impression of it.)

David's... aged a bit, the face is showing the pounds. Gillian's still looking good. There are many in-joke references scattered throughout, although the clumsiest is what they try to imply with the Presidents' pictures. We have to wait a long time for one character, and then it's only a cameo, bit of a waste. As as for "new boy" Billy... interesting character choice, but the movie can't be faulted for making the character story subtle.

I did get a laugh when watching the end credits, and I am nearly tempted to go back and rewatch the series... but this also reminds me that many episodes I don't want to rewatch. This movie should only be seen by die-hard shipper X-Files fans, and for the rest of us... eh, it's already fallen off the IMDB front page, and for understandable reasons.

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The Amazing Astronomer

Wow! That was some news I wasn't expecting...

James Randi has been the head of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) for a long time, and he isn't exactly a spring chicken, so thoughts have inevitably arisen around who will take control once he isn't.

Just the other day an announcement has been made as to the new President of JREF. Randi is still around as Chairman, but he's moved over to give someone the reigns.

While there are many possible picks, I don't think I'm the only one who was surprised to hear that it was our(*) very own Bad Astronomer! Big ups to Phil for taking on this job, and it will be interesting to see how he manages the Fort Lauderdale, Florida place from his home Boulder, Colorado. That's one heck of a commute... Way to go, Phil!

(*)"Our" in the sense of "a blog I regularly read".

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The Chronicles of Risan: Part the Second

Well, I made the list of the Emir's "Most Heroic", and as a "reward" for my anti-slavery efforts was put in a ship with other heroes and told to go off and find stuff for the Emir. As well as Reed and Hamil, we were joined by Alrick (Human Warlord) and Lia (Half-Elf Warlock) as officers on the good ship Two-Fingered Salute, a warship. With us was the Threefingered Adversary, a supply vessel, and another warship, Neptune's Fury. I was the ship's navigator...

Somehow, we go piloted into a storm, and lost Neptune's Fury. However, we did find it on a nearby island we were heading towards, wrecked. Half the crew survived, but their makeshift huts had been attack by fire that seemed related to some big bright thing up on the hill. Being the heroes we were, we set out to investigate.

One day into the jungle, we were beset by LizardFolk. A pitched battle ensued, in which I once again became bloodied, but eventually our might proved mightier than their might, and we didn't even have to kill all of them! We set out for their village, another two days travel.

Once there, there was a river filled canyon across. The others went down the side, across the raging river and up the other side again. Why they didn't decide to cross the rickety bridge that barely bore my weight I don't know.

On the other side, we confronted the shaman leader and the ziggurats his people built, complete with large fire dealing orb. A deal was negotiated whereby we got some of the land and they didn't kill us. To cement good trade, we would need to locate a large crystal orb, but that's a quest for later. Having avoided another battle, we roleplayed ourselves to a premature end of the adventure. Huh.

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A two-thirds trifecta

I spent the day yesterday playing roles. For some of the time, at least.

First up was a game in the Demon Hunters system, which is rather amusing take on the whole demon hunting (duh!) angle. I was Ned, and he was dead. A zombie that is. Special ability: taking damage. (Which I did. A LOT! Got quiet annoying that I had no actual offensive abilities.) Lots of fun was had, and we might meet that syphilitic ninja vampire (which is far deadly than a mere ninja vampire) again some day...

Second I didn't play, as the game I put my name in for was canceled due to lack of players. Instead, I played a board game, Pillars of the Earth. Interesting game, definitely some different tacks that could be taken. The aim is to get as many points as possible, which can be gotted either directly or through resources. I tried for the direct route, and while I was ahead for most of the game, ended up third.

Third was Murder Most Mysterious, which was basically Cluedo. We took on members or visitors to the household where the man (my character's father) was murdered and we tried to solve it. The murderer is random for every game, but in true classic style it did turn out that, yes, the butler did it.

On the future gaming front, there is Fright Night, played on October 25th. During Armageddon... DAMMIT! There are some great games being played then, but I'll probably be in Auckland seeing Adam West...

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The Knight o' Darkness

I caught up with what is the latest "Biggest Bestest Movie Evah!" (according to all the box office records that this movie broke, although with so many records around, movies will always find something to say they broke).

Have to say that this movie kicks off big, and doesn't stop. There are very little character scenes, with the movie rocking from one big moment to the next (and manages to fit in character moments in the action sequences, so there's a good step forward). The Joker is in there from the beginning, but they take a long time to set up Two Face. Still, they remain true to the characters, and the coin worked naturally.

Have to say the best part of the movie was the casting. Gary Oldman is brilliant as Gordon, Aaron Eckhart is perfect as Dent, and as for Heath Ledger... wow. Simply Wow. I don't envy the producers their decision as to who will step into those shoes for any return... He may have gone off the deep-end in terms of getting into the role, but it worked so well. And as for Christian Bale... er, well, someone has to wear the cowl. Just don't see him as a credible actor, and the gravely voice just sounds silly.

Big things have been said about this movie, and they are probably true. (I haven't actually read any of the reviews, so can't comment first-hand.) Definitely a movie to go see. And definitely not one for the kiddies.

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