Battlestar Galactica Finale

I'm going to keep this brief to try and avoid spoilers for those that haven't seen the finale, but there may be a few slips.
Over all I have to say this is one of the best series finales I have ever seen. It was chocked full of action, emotion and definitely left the characters with the dignity they deserve, for the most part.
Roslin and Adama's ending was great. McDonnell and Olmos are incredible actors and the finale only made me respect their abilities more. Emotions were high and seemed pretty genuine. Apollos ending was a bit lame, but since the character only had a few truly memorable moments in the entire series, I didn't really notice. Baltar and Caprica's ending was really good and I think the way they fleshed out Baltar in the last few episodes was excellent. I actually came to empathize for a characters that I had spend most of the series wondering why Adama hadn't flushed him out of an airlock. Saul and Ellen had a good, if uneventful ending. Theirs was more meaningful in flashbacks than it was in "current" time. Tyrol's ending was uneventful, but understandable given what he's been through. Hera, with parents in tow, ended up having a bigger part in retrospect than I thought, which put the whole "survivial of the species" tag she has been carrying in perspective and made sense in the end.
While there were actually 3 disappointing parts of the finale for me, 2 of which are minor so I won't mention them and risk ruining it for everyone else, there was only one that really bugs me. Kara's ending was kind of dumb. Again I won't go into detail, but after Kara's ending the only thing going through my mind was WTF? I don't like being left with a huge question mark in a finale. It's not like this is a cliffhanger, it's the end of this story. Now I do understand what was implied by Kara's ending, but I just don't like it. It doesn't sit right with me in the context of a sci-fi show. For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about... watch the show. For those that did watch it and understand where I'm coming from I'd like to know if you agree and what your take on the finale is.

Depsite my few complaints, I was impressed with the finale and will sincerely miss BSG. I have pretty much quit watching television, with the exception of BSG, & Heroes, which only serves to speak for how much I like those shows. I am genuinely sad to see BSG end and will miss these characters I have become accustomed to spending time with each week. Sure they will live on in my DVD collection, but that's not the same.
On the upside we have Caprica and the BSG TV movies to look forward to in the future.

It's Finally Here!

My PHB2 came in today, which seems to be the case for just about everyone else. I haven't had time to read through it yet but plan on doing so during spring break. I have a few other game books I am trying to finish reading and will get some kind of review of them all posted in the near future.

BTW, is anyone keeping up with the final episodes of BSG? I have read a lot of posts where people on various forums and blogs are commenting that the direction of the show seems to have gotten lost in these last episodes. I for one think have been pretty damn good.
I just hope appropriate supplements gets released for the RPG. Of course given the delays in other products like Serenity, we may not get them until Caprica is in its final season, or my little girl graduates high school (in about 6 years) which ever comes first.

Speaking of Caprica, I sure hope MWP gets on the ball and does release stuff that will take BSG up to the end of the show as well as producing products that will allow players to run pre-BSG games in and before the timeframe of the Caprica show. Also, just for fun, I hope they do a Classic BSG book with stats for the old Cylons and characters (ain't gonna happen, I don't think they have the rights to the original).
HeyMWP, while your at it I'd like to see a Buck Rogers (the 1970's version), and Greatest American Hero RPG.

Who is the greatest warrior on Spike TV

Though this is not all rpg related it does have some cool aspects that go along with RPG's. Spike TV is doing a series called Who is the Deadliest Warrior?. This is going to air in april and is unscripted. It will give answers to who is the better fighter the samarui, vikings. It is going to see who is better between William Wallace and Zulu. Also facing off will be the Yukuza and the Mafia.

The first episode is April 7 at 10 PM eastern and will have a gladiator facing off with an Apache. Chuck Liddel from UFC is going to make a speical guest appearance to test his abilities against the fighters.

This seems like it could be a very good idea and could be very interesting. Hope it can live up to it

Battlestar Galactica

If you haven't been keeping up with the current episodes of BSG you are missing out on some of the best episodes in the series.
So far we've seen the Prez and Adama consummate their relationship, the Cylons join the fleet, Starbuck burn her own dead body, and a mutiny that dethroned Adama. I hope the creators don't drop the ball as the series comes to an end, but if the first few episodes for this, the final "season", are any indication the series will go out with a bang. The series is getting so good that it is on the verge of knocking Firefly out of the #1 spot of my all time favorite shows.
If you missed this seasons episodes, check them out on HULU.

For the Hockey Fans

As a hockey fan I have to admit that this is one of my favorite videos. I believe that it took place in 2004 and has to set some kind of record for the most fights and penalty minutes of any game in recent history. A friend and I were talking about this at work and I thought I would share it.

Everyone Got Rick Rolled

I was at work on Thanksgiving, so I completely missed this. Apparently the entire viewing audience got Rick Rolled. This just goes to show how much the internet and technology influences our lives. I actually think this is pretty funny... I hate the song, but the fact that this happened during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade is hilarious.

Quick Reviews: Fringe

I have been an X-files fan for years. I followed Mulder and Scully through all their adventures into the world, full of aliens, vampires and conspiracies that they claimed existed right under our noses. When the show ended, poorly I might add, I was not happy. Luckily I still got to relive those great times through syndicated reruns, DVD boxed sets and in my own X-files themed d20 modern campaigns. Despite the movies I, like many fans, felt that there would just never be another show like it. The magic was gone and nothing could grab my imaginiation and run with it in the same way as the X-files (except for Heroes of course). That is until I saw Fringe.

The show began airing on Fox a few weeks ago. I didn't know a lot about it, just that it was supposed to be the next X-files, bold words. According to the things I had read, where X-files dabbled in the supernatural, Fringe was based more on real the world. The topics on Fringe are related to pseudoscience, or fringe science as they refer to it on the show. That was pretty much everything I knew about this new show, which I had intended to watch it, but didn't. Once I realized that I had missed the first few episodes I just forgot about it. Thank goodness for Hulu!

After signing in to Hulu to catch the 3rd season premier of Heroes, which I had missed, I noticed that Fringe was listed under the new shows available. I made a note and subscribed, intent on watching at least the first episode tonight. If it was any good, I figured, I might try to watch a few more, now I am sure I will.

If you haven't watched any episodes rest assured that I won't give anything away here. Suffice it to say that it is a really good show. I can definitely see the influence of the X-files, Heroes, and Lost, with a little CSI thrown in for good measure, all in the first episode. Almost from the start the characters begin to encounter conspiracies and clandestine operations, all revolving around "The Pattern". I've only watched the first episode and already I have new ideas for a d20 Modern campaign. The show is very engaging and the characters, FBI agent Olivia Dunham, scientist Walter Bishop (who has been in a mental hospital for the past 17 years), and his son Peter, are interesting and likeable.

Iappreciate the fact that they aren't throwing aliens and supernatural monsters at us in an attempt to copy the X-files, at least not yet. Instead the big bad is a corporation, Massive Dynamic, that has its hands in some shady fringe research(kind of like Lost and Heroes). One character brings up the fact that scientific discoveries have made exponential leaps forward and are to the point that maybe science can not be regulated and controlled. That is what this show is about, science. Ok maybe it is pseudoscience as I mentioned before, but the things that are brought up in the show are things that science has attempted to do in real life, at least to a degree. In the Fringe world there is something going on, some one is doing experiments and the people of earth are the lab rats. Is the evil corporation Massive Dynamic behind all the creepy and strange events? Is it the government? What is "The Pattern"? I don't know, but I'm going to keep watching and find out.

Heroes Viewership Drops

According to an article on the Hollywood Reporter the season 3 premier of Heroes brought in 25% less viewers than last seasons premier. The 2 hour episode ranked second behind Dancing with the Stars in the 9pm slot and behind CSI: Miami in the 10pm hour.

I have yet to watch the premier, the 9 month hiatus kind of lessened my interest in the show. I guess out of site, out of mind is pretty accurate. I will probably catch it online. I miss the old season schedule where you knew when your favorite shows were going to air and seasons started and ended in a predictable manner.

Preacher HBO Show Canned

Due to content issues the HBO adaptation of the Vertigo comic Preacher has been shelved. The new head of HBO felt the show was going to be too dark, violent and controversial. The fact it was so dark and controversial was part of the books appeal. Done properly the show could have been just as great as the comic, one of my all time favorites. It is a shame, but probably for the best as they would likely have ruined it anyway.

BSG Prequels

According to Scifi.com there is another Battlestar Galactica prequel in the works. If you are a BSG fan you already know about Caprica, which takes place 50 years before the current series. The newest prequel is, as yet, untitled but will be focused on the Cylon side of things. It takes place prior to the events in the BSG mini-series and is directed by Edward James Olmos. It will air in 2009 after the final 10 episodes of the current series.

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