Author: grasshopper

SGS: 6 Must Watch Sci-Fi Shows

Posted on May 23, 2021 by grasshopper in Geeky Sunday

It’s time for another fun filled Seriously Geeky Sunday! I know I’ve been sporadic lately–you can blame Pandemic Brain for that one. I’m ever so slowly getting myself back up to pre-covid creativity levels. I painted a mural in my bathroom last weekend, and let me just say that it was a much needed reprieve from everything.

Seriously Geeky Sundays: Science Fiction

And now for today’s theme, which is near and dear to my heart: Science Fiction. I’ve been into the genre for as long as I can remember. I’ll be focusing on six shows that I don’t normally spotlight on here, including my current obsession.

Let’s dive in!

23rd – Six on a Sunday: Science Fiction

Starting new this year one week a month will just have a theme and no questions. It’s in the spirit of memes that are no longer active and to give us all a relaxing week once a month. The theme can be answered anyway you wish and there is no right or wrong answer. If the subject was ‘science fiction movies’ you could discuss your favourites or the upcoming movies you’re looking forward to. As long as there are six of them you’re good!

The Expanse – MCRN

First up is my current obsession, The Expanse: more specifically Mars and the MCRN. If you haven’t watched this show yet, you are missing out. It throws you right into the action as you follow Holden and crew throughout their adventures. I remember I became obsessed with the MCRN (Martian Congressional Republic Navy) the first time one of their ships appeared (The Donnager).

I love their authoritative, militaristic society (what can I say; I like that sort of thing in fiction). I cannot wait to see more of the splinter group headed by Sauveterre in Season 6 (Before I get ahead of myself, I just want to note that I haven’t read the books yet). I I know that there is an epic MCRN villain named Duarte, whom I’m looking forward to seeing.

The Mandalorian

I loved this show. Everything about it captivated me, the music, costumes, the characters, and the simplicity of it. I kept calling it “The Witcher in space” because it follows a similar adventure/quest of the week format. That format is refreshing in today’s era of many complicated plot lines involving dozens of characters, some of whom forgotten and never resolved.

Altered Carbon

It only ran two seasons, but it’s one of those little known shows on Netflix that is uniquely different. It had its own niche cyberpunk charm. I highly recommend it!

Synopsis From Netflix:

More than 300 years in the future, society has been transformed by new technology, leading to human bodies being interchangeable and death no longer being permanent. Takeshi Kovacs is the only surviving soldier of a group of elite interstellar warriors who were defeated in an uprising against the new world order. His mind was imprisoned for centuries until impossibly wealthy businessman Laurens Bancroft offers him the chance to live again. Kovacs will have to do something for Bancroft, though, if he wants to be resurrected. Bancroft’s request of Kovacs is to solve a murder — Bancroft’s. “Altered Carbon” is based on Richard K. Morgan’s cyberpunk noir novel of the same name.

Dark

If you enjoyed The Man in the High Castle and the multiverse within, you’ll enjoy Dark. It weaves in an out of time through alternate realities involving the same small town. A mysterious cave is at the center of it all. Two opposing forces are at work–I won’t drop spoilers because this is a show where everything has a purpose and story.

The Orville

I remember rolling my eyes at the first trailer when it came out ages ago. I thought it would be just another stupid comedy and shove a bunch dumb jokes down our throats with every single awful trope that ever existed–Oh, how wrong I was! I am so thankful I gave it a chance. It’s one of my favorite sci-fi shows in recent years. If you love the 90s era of Star Trek (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager), you’ll love The Orville .

The comedy is PERFECT! It’s on point and fits into the story (which is rare in television).

The Orville — Please let there be a Season 3!

Falcon and The Winter Soldier

Out of the three Disney+ shows we watched (WandaVision, The Mandalorian, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier), this one was my favorite. It was the show I cared least about going into Disney+, but ended up being my favorite. It falls under the genre of military sci-fi, which is probably one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much.

It was wonderful to see an actual hero with a kind heart being the lead for once instead of a snarky anti-hero who does horrible things, yet constantly gets free passes.

What they did with Walker was fantastic. I fully expected them to drop the ball and turn him into a one-dimensional prick. He was a troubled soul, but deep down a good person. He cared deeply for Lamar, and was such an interesting character to follow. I’ll stop there in the name of spoilers.

Falcon and The Winter Soldier — I’ve already pre-ordered the action figure

Doors and Corners

Posted on May 9, 2021 by grasshopper in Geeky Sunday

The weather may be dismal and chilly, but Seriously Geeky Sundays is hot off the press! I just want to say that I had a lot of fun with this one, and a certain song keeps playing in my head with its accompanying maniacal laughter. You’ll find it right here!

9th – Moving On

Did you know that May is National Moving month (or that such a thing existed?), nope, neither did I. Moving is a typical plot prompt used in fandoms to start a story, inject new characters or just shake things up a little when they get stale. So this week we’re asking you to think about what happens when characters move in or away in your fandoms.

What was the most recent fandom that started with someone new moving to town?

WandaVision – The show was so much fun, and the premise was such a refreshing, unique take on telling a story within the MCU. I loved seeing the different costumes, sets, and camera filters (black and white…etc) throughout the episodes.

Tell us about your favourite character who left home to find their fortune.

Nog (Deep Space Nine) – He didn’t find a fortune in the traditional sense of the word, but he embarked on a journey no other Ferengi had done before. He left his family, friends, and home to join Starfleet. He found purpose in uniform and was happy despite the Dominion War and what it did to him.

Sometimes moving to a new place can put a character exactly where they’re supposed to be; who does this make you think of?

Sansa & Arya (Game of Thrones) – The sisters couldn’t be more opposite. Where Sansa was draped in beauty and grace, longing for a life in the palace as queen, Arya craved action and adventure. They were torn apart after everything unraveled into chaos, forced to survive. Sansa had to play the game while Arya struggled and fought for her next meal.

There is a scene when the two are reunited and they talk about how they wouldn’t have survived each other’s fate. The line always struck me as being true. I remember how it made me look back and think about their paths.

Sansa is crowned Queen of the North, as the years have wizened her. Arya sails off into the wild, seeking new worlds. Their fates couldn’t have been more fitting.

Not all new neighbours are benign, sometimes the devil comes to town (literally). Who was the most interesting villain to come to town?

There is no way I am not mentioning Agatha Harkness! Her snark, her laugh–I mean, how can you not enjoy a villain who comes up with their own, cheesy intro? And by cheesy, I mean awesome.

Not everyone sticks around; no fandom would be complete without the wandering passerby. Which one stuck in your mind?

Miller (The Expanse) – Doors and Corners, Kid. The private detective is hired to find a billionaire’s prodigal daughter. He follows clue after clue as a bigger mystery starts to unravel, and I can think of no better character to represent the wandering passerby than him. He’s got the dry wit, the hat (yes, the hat!), and appears at will (especially in the later seasons).

Which character shook things up just a bit too much and made a complete mess of things?

I am going to catch a lot of flack for this, but I have to go with Lyta from Babylon 5. She was fine in the Pilot episode, but after that, she grated my every last nerve. She creates nothing but division, pain, and suffering in her wake. Lyta kills and abuses her powers without a second thought (she destroys an entire planet and commits genocide in the process. Just because the planet was full of villains doesn’t make it any less of a tragedy). She constantly carries a mind-numbing, nauseating self-righteous-always-the-victim attitude. Lyta should not be considered one of the ‘good guys.’

She is irredeemable in my eyes. I’ll go so far to say that she is one of my most hated characters.

Babylon 5 - Season 1 Cast — Babylon 5 – Season 1 Cast, guess who is conveniently not present, ha ha ha!

And on that unpopular opinion note, Have a great Sunday! *Laughs maniacally*

Seriously Geeky Sundays are Back!

Posted on May 2, 2021 by grasshopper in Geeky Sunday

Hello everyone! I am still alive. My brain just happened to take a trip across the multiverse of writer’s and artist’s block. It’s been years since I’ve had it this bad, and let me just say that I did not miss it. At all. I’m fighting it and fighting hard!

Onto today’s Seriously Geeky Sundays topic: comic books:

I was an avid fan of all things manga, so most of my answers are going to be about manga or graphic novels rather than your traditional comic book series.

2nd – Comic Books

Normally the 1st of May is Free Comic Book Day, however, due to the pandemic, the organisers have chosen to move it to August with the hope of being able to celebrate it when stores are open again. I considered changing this week’s theme and then chose not to; it might not be Free Comic Book Day but we can still celebrate our love of comics

Let’s start at the beginning; what was your first comic book?

Sailor Moon – I can’t remember the exact one, but when I was a junior in high school, one of my friends would bring her backpack full of manga and let us borrow them. I remember many a time slipping one inside a textbook during a particularly boring class and reading it.

The first manga that I actually owned was also Sailor Moon related. Again, I can’t remember which one (it was so long ago). I remember buying every graphic novel I could. I sketched so many sailor concepts. So.Many.Of.Them.

Which comic did you read recently?

George Takei’s They Called us Enemy

Which comic series would you recommend to someone just starting to read comics?

George Takei’s They Called us Enemy because it has historical significance. It’s written and illustrated in a gripping way that is easy to follow. (I suggest this graphic novel to everyone. It is a must read about a not so great part of history). It’s a good graphic novel for someone just starting out. There aren’t a million characters or complicated quests (those are best saved for later).

What comic series do you have on your TBR (to be read) list?

I’ve been out of the comic book world for so long that I don’t know anymore. I enjoy a good manga or graphic novel, but I hate the ones that have a million issues and never end, which is the main reason why I haven’t kept up with them. I like stories you can start and finish without needing to read a 50 volume precursor.

With that being said, I’d like to read The Boys. Everyone who follows me knows how much I love Amazon’s adaptation of it. Another one I’d like to check out is Attack on Titan. I saw the first season of the anime on Netflix and was obsessed with it for a while (I have the jacket and cape, just to give an example).

What are some of your favourite comic book series/titles?

My favorites tend to be stand alone comics or graphic novels (or ones with no more than 5 in a series for the reasons I mentioned in the last question).

Babylon 5 – The Psi Corps and You
Things to Come – written by Walter Koenig

Bablyon 5 - The Psi Corps And You! — I love this cheesy Psi Corps propaganda, okay! 😉

Who are your favourite comic book artists?

Naoko Takeuchi – creator of Sailor Moon
Hidekaz Himaruya – creator of Hetalia: Axis Powers (I love his style of eyes!)
Yuu Watase – creator of Fushigi Yûgi. If you want to see beautiful art, check her stuff out!

Fushigi Yuugi — Image courtesy of Wikipedia

A Fun Filled Year of Blogging

Posted on April 4, 2021 by grasshopper in Geeky Sunday

Today marks one year since Heather launched Seriously Geeky Sundays. Has it been a year already? It feels like it was yesterday that I stumbled upon Pinterest in a desperate search for blog prompts that were actually enjoyable for me.

Before I start rambling and take the thunder away from today’s questions, I’ll just dive right in.

But first, wishing everyone a happy Easter! Maybe one day soon things will start getting back to normal.

4th April – Happy First Birthday SGS!

One year ago Seriously Geeky Sundays was launched and this week we’re celebrating our first birthday by looking back over the last year of prompts.

What was your favourite theme?

Conventions – It was so much fun to sit down and write about my unique perspective on working at conferences. I enjoyed reading everyone’s perspectives as attendees!

Cosplay – Talking about one of my favorite pastimes was a blast (albeit, I’ve been lazy with cosplaying incognito over the past year for obvious reasons), and again, it was so much fun reading everyone’s posts and looking at their cosplay pictures.

What theme did you like the least?

There aren’t any I disliked. Heather put a lot of thought and energy into creating six exciting prompts each week–can we give her a giant THANK YOU for doing this? I know how hard it is to come up with things to write about, and she’s been doing it every single week for the past year!

Thank you, Heather, for bringing strangers together through fandoms and blogs. It has helped me get through 2020.

Thank you for 52 weeks of prompts, Heather!

What question made you think the most?

Many of them forced me to consider things I haven’t thought about, and for that I am glad. It is good to experience something different or something that puts you out of your comfort zone every so often. I’ve enjoyed answering questions I wouldn’t normally stumble upon.

After skimming through past SGS posts, I decided on What is your favourite wedding scene? from What’s Your Cup of Coffee? for two reasons: 1. I don’t particularly like the romance genre, so it was extra challenging to come up with an answer about scenes I tend to skip (ha ha!). 2. I ended up writing a piece of fan-fiction that enabled me to come up with a wedding scene I actually liked.

Which theme reminded you of something you’d forgotten?

Welcome to Grasshopper’s Realm – The World Wide Web of Us. I managed to find one of my ancient angelfire sites from the early 2000s and take a dive down memory falls. I spent a good amount of time sifting through long forgotten drawings and journal entries from yesteryear.

Banner depicting a website from the early 1990s — 1996 here I come!

What do you enjoy most about Seriously Geeky Sundays?

I’m so glad I found it last year. As Winst0lf said in his post, the pandemic put a huge damper on inspiration, and I could barely get a sentence out, let alone a full blog post. I couldn’t believe my luck after scrolling through endless cycles of the same Live Laugh Love journal prompts on pinterest and spotting Heather’s SGS.

SGS forces me to keep my creative mind flowing because the prompts are things I’m interested in and aren’t your run of the mill, generic questions. I’ve enjoyed meeting new people through it and cannot wait to see what the second year of SGS brings.

What themes or subjects would you like to see come up this year?

Conventions Part II – Another round of questions based on conventions
Geeking by in a COVID-19 World – How has everyone coped during the insanity that was 2020? What geeky things got you through it all?
,Guest Prompts – A series of prompts created by guests (sort of like Around the World in 8 Sundays, but guests).
What geeky things will you do once things get back to normal?
Cosplay Part II – Another round of cosplay questions
What-if scenarios involving characters and fandoms

Sealed and buried for all time his Stargate…

Posted on March 29, 2021 by grasshopper in Geeky Sunday

We’re back with another fun filled ~~Sunday~~ Monday! Heather from geeking-by.net is running a poll on Seriously Geeky Sundays right now. Check it out!

28th March – Around the World in 8 Sundays [Africa]

It’s the final Around the Sundays theme and our Seriously Geeky Sundays ship has reached its final destination; Africa!

What is your favourite fandom set in Africa?

Marvel’s Black Panther (Wakanda forever!) and Stargate (1994 film). I talk about Stargate in another question, so I’ll focus on Black Panther. I loved everything about it right down to the costumes and sets. It captivated me because it was so imaginative and had a cast of well written (and acted!) characters. And can we give the wintery Jabari tribe some love? Goodness, as I’m searching for clips, I’m remembering every single thing I absolutely adore about the movie!

Who are your favourite fictional African characters?

T’Challa – He first appeared in Captain America: Civil War, and he was immediately one of my favorite MCU characters ever to appear on screen. MCU hero rankings:

Captain America
T’Challa
The Scarlet Witch

Africa is a popular setting for video games; have you played any of them?

It’s been forever and a day since I’ve had time to indulge in a good game. I had to take a detour around memory lane for this one, and sadly, I’m coming up short! Maybe this is a sign to get back into gaming because the only games I can think of are old SNES games based off of Stargate and The Lion King (I LOVED those games, by the way!)

We’ve been exploring fictional countries with this series and there are more fictional countries attributed to Africa than any other continent. What are your thoughts on this?

I don’t have any thoughts on it because I don’t think I’ve read many books with fictional African nations. I wish Wakanda was real, does that count? 😉

Africa is home to Egypt and ancient Egypt has been given the pop-culture treatment many times. Which has been your favourite?

Ancient Egypt, the obsession of my teenage years! Oh where, oh where, do I even begin? If something even remotely mentioned ancient Egypt, I raced to consume it! Out of all my favorite things featuring ancient Egypt, none captured my imagination like Stargate (1994 film)

To say that I was obsessed with this movie would be the understatement of last century. I drew what seemed like a million pieces of fanart for it, made up stories about it with my childhood best friend, and pretended I was an Egyptian goddess when I felt like it. There is much more to this list, but for brevity’s sake, I’m ending it there. Ya’ll have no idea how obsessed with this movie I was. High Castle is the closest thing to my teenage years of Stargate love (just to give you a glimpse into what levels of obsession we’re talking about here!). This is barely the tip of the iceberg, ha ha!

Kurt Russell Stargate — Holy smokes, I cannot believe I found the image I had in my Kurt Russell binder!

I think I still have my Kurt Russell binder with my teenage self’s magnum opus of Stargate fan fiction somewhere.

And for some fun trivia, did you know there was a book series based off of the movie? I read all of them (there is no way my younger self was NOT going to).

Stargate: Rebellion (October 1995)
Stargate: Retaliation (September 1996)
Stargate: Retribution (October 1997)
Stargate: Reconnaissance (May 1998)
Stargate: Resistance (October 1999)

Another fun fact! The original movie was supposed to be the first in a trilogy. It’s been a project that has been off and on over the years (I’ve longed given up hope for it).