Doctor Who: New series, new species part 31

Ok so The Sarah Jane Adventures has wrapped up here in the UK. I've really enjoyed this series, it's felt more consitent and while it still has the cheesy intro on the whole it's felt a bit more grown up and realistic while still suitable for a kid's show.

Anyway - Monsters!!

Shansheeth








These are puppets and no mistaking!! To the jaded eye they were clearly fake, large creations of some lab and what's more they were unmistakably modeled on vultures while preying on the apparently dead Doctor - hmmm. But you know what, they kind of worked! Quirky special effects have always been part of the charm of Who, with 'spot the bubble wrap' being a favourite game of mine when watching classic series - but the point is when the characters react to them you believe them and so yeah, bar the odd moment, I was convinced. Plus it was nice to see Matt Smith's Doctor so that kept me distracted!!

The Shansheeth are a large avian race capable of standing vertically on two legs in a vaguely humanoid fashion. While imposingly tall, and possessing sharp beaks they are nonetheless a calming presence for those they meet. This is due to a well practiced etiquette required for the duty of choice for many outgoing Shansheeth. The Shansheeth dedicate entire fleets to searching out the dead, especially the heroic dead, and giving them a proper burial. Recently one group went Rogue and attempted to steal a time-machine in order to prevent the deaths they undertake.

That's kind of it, there was another race explored in the following episode, but they weren't really seen except for one of them who was half-human, but they did send some pretty cool robots to go stomping round looking for the boy Gavin, who turned out to be next in line to the throne.










More Soon!

SF at the Movies - November '10

A nice slice of Sci-Fi for us this month - and not a minute too soon!!

Skyline
Released 12/11/10











I'm looking forward to this one. The trailers have been great in that they thrill us with images of huge alien warships, mysterious bright lights that capture humans and even a monster or two, but still don't give us much of a clue as to what's actually going on. I'm looking forward to the epic special effects and seeing just what is behind the bright lights.

Oh, my apologies, I thought there was more - oh well, check this one out anyway!!

Heroes: Nowhere Man

Well Heroes appears to be cancelled so no mystery return on the BBC it would seem this time. While it certainly had lost it's steam after the glorious first series I had really hoped that the potential for change left by the end of series 4 (with Claire revealing her powers) would kick start the show into something new.

Well I guess that means Heroes- based content will stop on the blog, I think 'Power Trip' has had it's day among other things, but if you'll indulge me I'd like to wrap up something I did earlier in posting up the Heroes 'Webisodes' - this series 'Nowhere Man' showed Doyle trying to live a normal life before he eventually wound up at the carnival.

YouTube isn't doing it's thing but heroestheseries.com seems to have working videos so thanks to them.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

There's one more webisode to pop up, but who knows maybe this'll stir up some Heroes interest and maybe they'll get to finish the show off properly.

Blogga's Halo Reach Diary - 6/11/10

Ok so it didn't turn out to be the weekly thing I'd envisioned but oh well, I'm gonna press on with this bas boy as best I can. I have actually finished the campaign now, but there would be far too much detail to cram all that into one post so I'll go one level at a time and keep you updated on my progress.

This post contains spoilers for the level 'Exodus'

Armour







Well I thought hard about this mission - you are stranded from your team after falling back into Reach orbit, you battle on your own through a city, trying to find your next objective - there was only one option: ODST. There are a few pieces of ODST armour available, the distinctive helmet and also chest piece made the gear clearly ODST. I wasn't able to get the shoulders, but there are plenty of Air Assault and Paratrooper pieces that make the grade - I even splashed out on some knees - the system is great for making me buy stuff I wouldn't bother with. To top it off there was something I wouldn't have considered, changing my visor colour to ODST silver.

New Stuff

There were a few new-look things in this level, improved by Reach's better graphics, including new ODSTs (making my armor choice even better) and new Brutes (below)







This level gives me the opportunity to talk about some of the equipment you get in this game as it is essential to the mission, first off...

Reentry Pack






This bulky backpack is what allows Noble-Six to drop to Reach's surface without dying, much in the way Master Chief did in Halo 3. At the start of the level Noble-Six gets up and retrieves this pack, getting a pistol from it - but that's not the only thing he straps to his back...

Jetpack








The ODSTs you link up with are Jetpack specialists who nimbly maneuver around a skyscraper contruction site. The Jetpack is one of many armour abilities found in the game and a favourite among fans. It's application is fairly obvious; it allows you to jump high and fly short distances. Experienced users will know to save a little power to break large falls and use quick bursts to extend jumps just enough.

Evacuation Ship







It was great to see some new Human ships as well as Covenant ones, while the Campaign has been awesome for giving us a close look at Frigates in combat we haven't had any new ships, but we did get some civilian transports as Noble Six aided in the evacuation of New Alexandria, much like the evacuation of Arcadia in Halo Wars.

Campaign

This was a hard mission, though not incredibly long. As Noble six moves through the city he finds forces engaged in terrorizing civilians. First there are squads of suicide grunts and next there are Brutes savagely attacking noncombatants. The Spartan joins the Army force in pushing them back and they fight to secure an evacuation point for the civilians. This is made difficult by a covenant Corvette pounding the city at close range. With the assistance of some ODST a landing pas is briefly secured allowing civilians to get away from the bombardment. The team then move out of the city to cover evacuation ships getting civilians off-planet. Noble Six fights his way to activate a missile battery that critically damages the Corvette, saving many lives as they get off-planet.

After the mission is complete, Noble Team find their missing member and he is reunited with the group in the city.

I'll leave it there - more soon though!

Stuff: Star Wars The Old Republic - Threat of Peace

Threat of Peace is a recent comic arc set in the old Republic era. For the few of you not in the know it is set in the era that will soon be defined by the new Video Game The Old Republic (TOR). Linked to the famous Knights of the Old Republic, this new game takes the action to a large scale, being a Massively Multiplayer Online Game.

The game is set a few centuries after it's predecessors, but still well over 3000 years before the original trilogy. In this era the Sith have returned in huge force, crushing the Republic and forcing a truce on them. With masses of territory under Sith control the Galaxy lives in an uneasy peace and a tense cold war is fought between the two factions.





This first comic arc (another 'Blood of the Empire' is currently underway) takes place at the start of this treaty. The Sith and the Republic have been locked in battle for years and suddenly the Sith send a delegation to Alderaan to meet with a Jedi diplomatic team. However this is a ruse and the Sith arrive and invade Coruscant (as seen in the famous 'Deceived' trailer.

The hastily assembled truce is tested to the limit as troopers refuse to abandon their posts and terrorist attacks go on throughout the republic. Only a few Jedi, stranded far beyond the Republic have a clue as to what is going on but both they and the Sith have to act quickly to find out who is responsible to have any chance at peace. The Jedi find it is one of them, a Jedi master thought dead that is responsible and they must turn their backs on her to save the peace.

So let's have a look at what's new (or old!) eh?

New Jedi

Dar'Nala
Species: Togruta
Sex: Female
Position: Jedi Master





Dar'Nala was a senior Jedi Master sent as part of the Jedi negotiating team to Alderaan. Shortly after the Sith-enforced peace she and her apprentice were captured by a Sith vessel, she enabled her apprentice to escape and also a bounty hunter who she sent with news to Corsucant. She was tortured by the Sith and believed by most to be dead. After she escaped she began to sabotage the peace process, striking at Imperial targets and turning the Sith against each other. After she was found out she was killed in a confrontation, ending the threat.

Orgus Din
Species: Human
Sex: Male
Position: Jedi Master





Orgus Din was a Jedi active in front line duty and had just returned to report on his activities when the Sith attacked, he engaged the Sith as they arrived and searched for survivors in the Jedi temple. After regrouping with survivors and fighting of Sith forces he was sent to Balmorra where his Padawan was halting the peace process. He stayed to help the evacuation then moved on to Dantooine where the crisis was eventually resolved.

Satele Shan
Species: human
Sex: Female
Position: Padawan (will become Grand Master)





We meet Satele in her early days here, in the game (and in the prequel novel Fatal Alliance) she is Grand Master of the Jedi Order. Here she is an impetuous apprentice who talks with her lightsaber when she realizes the Sith's betrayal. While not eager to give up the fight she did recognize the need for peace and ultimately turned her back on her former master, shaping her into the great Jedi she would become.

Zym
Species: Kel Dor
Sex: Male
Position: Grand Master




Zym was Grand Master of the Jedi Order at the time of the Treaty of Coruscant, after hearing of the Sith betrayal he urged for peace, acknowledging that the Republic had little choice and that it was better to save lives than retaliate in haste. Zym was called to a meeting with a republic military officer and the bounty hunter who had Dar'Nala's warning, however the hunter had a grudge against the officer and killed her and when Zym retaliated he too was killed, leaving the message undelivered.

Fortris Gall
Species: Miralian
Sex: Male
Position: Jedi Knight





Fortris trained under master Orgus and so his former master was called when he refused to retreat from the front lines on Balmorra, believing the truce to be a lie. He was ordered to go to Dantooine to quell the fighting there, but quickly got involved in the battle as things escalated. It was only when he saw the damage done by Dar'Nala that he joined the other Jedi in establishing peace.

Phew - that's a lot of Jedi there, but who knows you may be glad to know them when you bump into them in game, thankfully there aren't as many...

New Sith

Darth Baras
Species: Human
Sex: Male
Position: Sith Lord





Lord Baras was key in creating the treaty of Coruscant and getting the Republic to agree to it's terms. Unlike other Sith he was keen for the opportunity to create peace, he was also distinct in that he didn't do so to gain power, in fact he refused a promotion, content to serve well in his position. He came into conflict with Darth Angral who wanted to destroy the Jedi, and later when he was blamed for sabotaging the treaty, but when he saw the truth he brought Angral to his side and confronted the Jedi.

Darth Angral
Species: Human
Sex: Male
Position: Sith Lord




Angral lead part of the assault on Coruscant city while others atacked the temple. After landing he dueled Orgus Din, but a crashing ship seperated them. He went on to kill the Republic Chancellor and wanted to kill all the Jedi, but was stopped when the negotiations were completed. He was angry with Lord Baras, but temporarily came to his aid to stop Dar'Nala before finally parting to go his own way.

I'll try and be quick, next up are

Ships

Oppresor-class Battle Cruiser





A Sith star destroyer used in the invasion of Coruscant and later by the Sith Lords leading their forces to Dantooine and other worlds. Typical star destroyer shape with the bulky, squared off design featured commonly by Sith in this era.

Fury-class Transport





A long-range fighter employed by the Sith and carried on their warships. They were used as both transports and aggressive fighter craft. One was used by Braden to escape Sith custody.

Envoy




Envoy was a republic transport used by the Jedi to travel to the front lines after the Treaty of Coruscant, it was attacked by the Sith and only Satele Shan escaped.

And last of all...

Map

I like doing these - there are far to many comings and goings for me to do my usual arrows, so I'll just mark all the planets mentioned in this arc.



















Whooo! That was longer than expected, anyway, hope it was of use. I enjoyed Threat of Peace and I look forward to visiting some of the location and maybe some of the characters in the upcoming game.

Doctor Who : New series, new species part 30

Wow! The 30th post, that's some staying power! I guess the draw of new stuff will always have a strong hold on me. Sarah Jane Adventures is in full swing and has a few new aliens for us, though not many for this post as it makes use of it's own villains, The Veil in the second episode. It's great to see the series use it's own creations as a key feature rather than relying on main series monsters for a big draw - maybe the main show could learn from this - can we have a Dalek/Cybermen free series please!!!

Anyway, on with the new stuff...

Vishklar









I'm ambivalent about this one, the idea of a being from another dimension that can bring himself into our world via dreams is a bit far-fetched, but at the same time it is well established in Who lore, with other creatures such as 'Adam' in Torchwood who fed on memories. So the concept did work, but I found the character overall to be a bit over the top. The nightmare scenarios of the episode were well written and the idea as a whole worked, but the makeup and the voice made it seem like it was trying to herd to be scary without actually being scary.

Vishklar are a race of beings from another dimension. While they can create an image for themselves they are essentially incorporeal beings. They have the power to feed on dreams and one such individual was able to access the nightmares of Luke Smith, drawing power from his superhuman mind, he was able gain greater influence and control, conjuring up his own nightmare scenarios and preventing Luke from speaking his name until he gained enough power to appear in physical form. He was able to send more people to sleep until he was defeated and trapped by Luke and his friends who had conquered their fear of him.

And that's it for this post - there was also some 'Sentient Concrete' featured, but i can't find an image for it, and it was little more than a small grey plot device but good fun nonetheless. The following episode featured the return of the Veils and also the Men in Black featured in dreamland making a welcome appearance in the flesh...sort of!

More soon!

SF at the Movies - October '10

Keeping this respectably in-date for once, let's have a look at what's available this month.

Fanboys
Released 4/10/10








This film, featuring a whole host of cameo stars, tells the story of a group of friends who decide to see Episode 1 before anyone else, by breaking into Skywalker Ranch and stealing an advance copy! They do this because their friend is sick and may not live to see the official release. I've already seen this out on DVD so I guess it's a limited release, but worht picking up on disk if you can.

And that looks like it apart from an animated movie called 'Mars' which I couldn't find a trailer for - there looks like there'll be a few big hitter coming our way next month so keep your eyes open folks