The Boba show

Superman, again
So, the big news today is that Warner Bros. is looking to reboot the Superman franchise... again. That's not news, really. They've talked about it for a bit. Seems no one liked that whole Superman-as-deadbeat-dad reboot. Go figure. Here's where it gets interesting, Warner is bringing in Christopher Nolan as an advisor on how to approach the new film(s). Keep in mind, he's (probably) not going to direct them but help Warner figure out what they should do. Hopefully that won't include making Superman "dark." Dark is Batman's territory, that's why it works for him. Superman is not dark. Also, Superman would not knock Lois Lane up and then bail. Superman saves planets and solar systems from giant planet and solar system-eating robots -- he doesn't stop half-baked real estate scams, no matter how big or how much Lex Luthor has to do with them. Anyway, hopefully things work out for Supes. Oh, the article also mentions that Nolan and co. have begun the script phase for the third Batman film.

24
Does the idea of a 24 film excite you? Then prepare to get even more excited. Are you prepared? Hmm? Good. Turns out the long-talked-about 24 film may happen. I might even go see that if it does.

Star Wars
That whole Star Wars live action (possibly) cable TV show is starting to gel. It sounds interesting on paper, I guess. Darker, more character driven, well written. Let's believe it when we see it but it just might work. I mean, I was skeptical about the Clone Wars and I kinda like that show. Although, this one is being billed as "Sopranos meets Deadwood in space" and apparently features a young Boba Fett "making his way in the universe" while dating a Twilek prostitute. Two out of three facts in that last sentence are true. Having trouble picking them out, aren't you?

EA busy
Electronic Arts is a big corporation. They make some good games, and if they don't they buy the companies that do. At their recent shareholders conference call they announced a buttload of new games and initiatives, including a 2011 release for the new Dragon Age game and Crysis 2, among others. They also mentioned that Dead Space 2 will now be a 2011 release instead of the original 2010 announcement.

And finally…
Hey, remember that EA conference call I just talked about? Yeah, they also announced that there will be something seriously "far-reaching" for Mass Effect coming in 2011 as well. What could that be? A lot of people are saying Mass Effect 3, but how "far-reaching" is that? It's the last part of a planned trilogy, it's sort of the opposite of "far-reaching," no? Could it be an MMO? The Mass Effect universe would definitely lend itself to one of those given all the different cultures and abilities and whatnot. But who knows? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Rushed

Force Unleashed
I liked the Force Unleashed. Not many people did, apparently. I think expectations for the Sith-y Star Wars game were (understandably) pretty high and fell short a bit. For me, I just liked using force powers and cutting shit up with my lightsaber. Now, though, we're going to need things to get stepped up a bit, right? Can't just be dazzled with a few force throws and saber slices, yeah? On that note: Here's a cool "wish list" for the recently announced sequel.

Dragon Age: Origins
It's a bad news-good news day in the world of Dragon Age today. Bad news: the "Return to Ostagar" DLC that was supposed to launch today has been delayed indefinitely. Boo! Meanwhile, the good news: BioWare has announced a full, 15-hour expansion called Awakening for March. Yay! Seriously, I've played the shit out of this game -- and will continue to do so for a few more weeks -- and it still keeps showing me new twists and turns. I think by March, though, it will be time for some new Dragon Aging and my interest in the game will definitely need an... awakening. Andithankyou.

Hmmm
The Onion's AV Club is some good internet. They offer up a darn good skew on all things pop culture-y. Their head isn't up their own ass but they're also pretty free of fluff, too. It's a nice balance. That being said: AV Club did their games of the year and put (spoiler alert) Batman: Arkham Asylum as No. 1. I have no problem with that, Batman: Arkham Asylum (and most of the games on their list) would be on my best of 2009 list, too -- maybe not at No. 1, but still. I loved that game. Many people did. That's not my problem. What is my problem is that the AV Club said Batman: Arkham Asylum was a “lean” game that “clocks in at around 8 hours.” Uhm, I’m no games wiz admittedly, but I’m (according to the game) 53% of the way through the game and I’ve played over 24 hours. No matter how much I suck, there’s no way someone is cutting through that game in 8 hours. Also, no Uncharted 2 (the game I would put as No. 1 in 2009) on the list. Like, at all. And, according to the comments, it was rated higher by AVC than some games on the list. I call bullshit.

And finally...
Topless Robot takes a look at the ten best Justice League and Justice League Unlimited episodes. The list really drives home what an incredible show it was. Extremely underrated.

Wha happened to: Diora Baird in Star Trek, the Fallout MMO and more

Fallout MMO
Last year-ish, there was news that Interplay was cooking up a Fallout-based MMO. This seemed like a no brainer, except, of course, that Bethesda owned the rights to anything Fallout-y and had just released the critically-accliamed Fallout 3. So, yeah, they were understandably mad, to say the least and lawsuits ensued. With the legal slugfest underway, we're starting to see what Interplay had in mind and, well, it looks like they get the whole post-nuclear war look the game is known for.

Diora Baird
It's pretty easy to see why dudes like Diora Baird. That needs no discussion. And, actually, it would probably be creepy to discuss it anyway, so it's best we skipped that chat, my friends. When it was announced that Diora would be joining the also easy-on-the-eyes Rachel Nichols as Orions in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot, nerds jizzed in their pants the world over -- even before the various "scenarios" one might imagine occuring between the comely Misses Baird and Nichols in green make-up and little clothing. But again, it wasn't a surprise that Diora would be cast as a sexy green chick. But then a double decker surprise chop sandwich gets served up as J.J. not only cuts out her scene but he cast her as the Orion with the clothes in the first place. WTF?

Sci-Fi TV
Here's an analysis of how science fiction shows are doing on TV this fall. I was happy to see that Fringe may not be in as much trouble as has been discussed recently.

Mass Effect 2
Check out this video of the upcoming BioWare title, which emphasizes combat. While I didn't hate on the original's combat as much as others do, this looks much improved. Also, if you know anything about the original, the new and improved (read: frightening) husks are chilling. I'm not really sure how you would make those more frightening than they already were, but I guess BioWare did it because I am NOT looking forward to that level at all, man.

Batman
This is a great list of the top Batman: The Animated Series episodes. Can't say I can argue with it. And it makes me want to rewatch them all, too.

And finally…
Speaking of Batman, do you watch Community on NBC? If not, you're missing the funniest show on TV right now. Shame on you. This whole sequence based on the Caped Crusader isn't even the sixth funniest part on their recent Halloween episode.