I have seen Wonder Woman holding hands and laughing with Inuyasha. I have seen Classic Voltron posing near Formal-wear Storm Trooper posing near Sexy Companion Cube. I have seen more Dark Knight Jokers in one building than I have since Halloween 2008. I have seen Superman logos on more shirts, skirts, knee-high socks, corsets, headbands, and pajama onesies than I can count. I have seen between ten and twenty fake Silent Bobs, while waiting in line to see the real Kevin Smith. Reportedly in the men’s room, I missed seeing Gumby standing at the urinal next to Spiderman.

For I have been to NY Comic Con 2011. I have breathed the same air as some of the most enthusiastic comic book, graphic novel, video game, anime, movie, and television geeks and nerds the world over. I have been lost inside the glorious glass behemoth known as the Javits Center.

But most importantly, I have seen Boba Fett Chicken:

As at any convention encouraging cosplay, there was every good and bad combination of polyester, polyurethane, and spandex-nylon blends imaginable. But, Family Guy fans or not, everyone loved Boba Fett Chicken. Shortly thereafter, I appropriately saw a man donning “I have a Boba-Fettish” panties on the outside of his pants, probably purchased at Her Universe.

One of the many fine booths with a plethora of geek goodies for sale.

The big event at the Javitz Center’s IGN theater Friday night was the Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes live recording of their podcast Jay & Silent Bob Get Old.

The NSFW show discussed their love of comic books, Jason Mewes creepy people-watching tendencies, and ended with a Batman-themed sketch game. While not yet available in full form on the podcast’s site, video excerpts from the event are available on youtube.

The largest popular culture convention on the East Coast, New York Comic Con began on October 13th and will be continuing through Sunday the 16th. MTV Geek has more excellent exclusive videos and interviews. Visit the official Comic Con website at http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/ for a complete list of exhibitions and vendors.

After a ton of conflicting reports about multi-player in the upcoming Mass Effect 3, Casey Hudson has confirmed a co-op mode. And that’s about it. What does this mean? Will you and two friends get to play as three Sheps, or maybe as squadmates? Or all new characters? Gah, so many questions. Such a tease.

Rainbow Dash cosplay costume wig – By GimmCat - $115.00

The ears are entirely hand-crafted by me in my workshop using a combination of acrylic and polyform molding. They are solid and sturdy but not so heavy that they will weigh down the wig. They are very well secured to the wig so you needn’t worry about them wobbling about on your head! The rainbow colored hair matches Rainbow Dash’s mane perfectly!

October is here, and I am sadly still clueless as to what I want to be for Halloween.

Not only does GimmCat offer a Rainbow Dash wig, but they’ve also made a matching tail, along with wigs and tails for the rest of the MLP Friendship is Magic cast.

I’ve grown a bit weary of tower defense games. There’s a ton of them out there, and they get a bit too repetitive for my tastes. It’s high time someone put a new spin on the concept. Thankfully, Orcs Must Die! is coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade on October 5th and PC October 12th. What’s the difference with this game? It’s a first person tower defense game! Check out the incredibly well-done interactive trailer above for a taste of orc blood.

Click for bigger, obviously. Via SF Signal.

I’m afraid I haven’t been able to view and digest these latest episodes of Doctor Who in my usual way. These past few Saturdays I’ve been away from home, then forced to watch them while everyone was sleeping. This resulted in my missing a lot of dialogue due to the low volume. Then this most recent episode, the Wedding of River Song, I watched broken in two parts during the naptimes of the nephews I was sitting, so I missed a ton there. But! I’ve just finished rewatching the Wedding, and that final scene still gave me chills and has me more excited about the upcoming season than any finale before. It answered just about every question posed this season, and then went on to ask just one more. Spoilers after the jump! GERONIMO!

Best scene of the night?

I love not only the mentions of Rose and Jack, but that they have at last remembered the Brigadier. Yes, Sarah Jane got a touching tribute a few months back that had me blubbering, but Nicholas Courtney passed away a few months prior to Elizabeth Sladen. This was a very fitting tribute to a memorable male companion.

Speaking of memorable male companions, once again, Rory went on to kick a whole lot of ass, standing before the Silence to protect Amy in spite of the pain. He even had something of a meta moment, as the Silence hissed at him, “Rory Williams. the man who dies and dies again. Die one last time, and know she will never come back for you.” But of course she came back to save him, machine gun in hand, mowing the Silence down.

But… how did she know to come back and save him? Plot hole time. If someone removes the iDrive (Yes, that’s how I’m spelling it), they forget the Silence. Rory said as much. He had to keep his on so that he knew who was coming after them. Yet everyone still seemed to remember that the Silence was still after them later on.

On the subject of Amy, she was wonderful in this episode, if a bit underused. Yes, she killed Madam Kovarian, FINALLY having some kind of real emotional reaction to having her baby taken away. But it was so rushed, and left me unsatisfied. The Doctor’s chat with Captain Williams, while cute, could have been trimmed to add more to this final confrontation between Amy and Kovarian.

There were a lot of fun moments in this episode, one of my favorites included that “Knitting for Girls” book. There was so much crammed into this episode, and many of the scenes did feel rushed: the aforementioned and the distress beacon in particular. But it was nice to still have those touches of humor.

Another terrific moment was the slow build to the reveal of the Silence. Perfectly executed. That first mark on the Doctor’s arm only confused me, but the second look at the added dashes was brilliant and gave me chills.

Now, there were another few bait and switches in this episode, the sorts of teases that Moffat loves to give yet never pay off on. I was incredibly excited to see the pterodactyls in the second half trailer, and yet all we got there was a gag. The eye patch viking didn’t seem to play much of a role, either, outside of showing off makeup. And speaking of makeup, with all the terrific special effect makeup we’ve seen this season, why can’t they ever seem to give Matt Smith a convincing beard?

The beard, along with his soothsayer getup, laid the Messiah symbolism on just a bit thick in my humble opinion. The Doctor was waffling on dying, then seemed to accept his fate, a la Jesus’ Agony in the Garden. Eventually, he was willing to die to save everyone in the universe, to sacrifice his life for ours. The messianic nature of the Doctor has been touched on before, even more heavy-handedly (See the Titanic Christmas Special, Voyage of the Damned). Yet once again, Matt Smith’s incredible acting keeps it grounded. I’ve called him great before, that he’s the most “Doctoriest” of the three actors to play the role in the new generation. He’s quickly cementing his place as the best of them all.

Okay. I believe I’ve commented on everything but River, and I’ve been saving her for last for one reason. She’s the most glaring plot hole of all. Kovarian/the Silence didn’t need her. Let’s remember what River said whilst killing the Doctor, “The suit’s in control. I can’t stop it.” Read that a few more times. Anyone could have been in the suit. Anyone at all. Why did it need to be River Song? Why go through all the trouble of replacing Amy Pond with a Ganger, stealing a baby at Demon’s Run, raise that baby up to be a psycho, lose her, find her, and put her in a suit that COMPLETELY CONTROLS HER ACTIONS? Hell, the suit could have been empty. Why did it have to be River Song? Because that’s what the fixed point in time said? Why not kidnap her at some other point in her timeline? Bah. Makes no sense whatsoever.

But the ending made sense. It made much more sense than the Big Bang.  I said previously that the Tesselecta could be a possible way for the Doctor to cheat death, but I also dismissed the idea in the same sentence. I should have given it more thought. Moffat said that that was the real Doctor at Lake Silencio, and so he was. Shrinked up inside a robot version of himself. This didn’t feel like a cheap cheat, either. It was great.

Even better was the very end. This whole season seems to have been building towards next season. The Doctor is returning to his roots for the show’s 50th anniversary, and the question was hidden in plain sight. I had no idea what it could possibly be until it was asked, and when it was I was grinning from ear to ear.

Doctor who? Yes. A thousand times yes. The last time Doctor Who had me this pumped was at the end of the Pandorica Opens when I was literally screaming at my screen.

I’ve got a lot more to muse on, but this is getting long, so I’ll wrap it up for now. I’ll comment more in future posts, as well as come back and revisit the skipped Closing Time. In the meantime, if River Song’s timeline has you confused, check out this clip from Doctor Who Confidential. Also, make sure to leave your reactions in the comments below.

Moffat, you magnificent bastard. Thanks for an amazing season.

Her: Shock and contempt
Him: Pained with utter disbelief

Anyhow, yes, I know I’ve gotten behind in bloggery and Who Reviews, but I’ve watched the last two eps at my parents under conditions that required me to be quiet and thus miss a lot of dialog. I need to rewatch and will review soon! Hugs and kisses!

The latest episode of Doctor Who started out light-hearted, as the Doctor attempts to put the dark decision he had to make in The Girl Who Waited far behind him, but this wasn’t going to be a fun adventure. The creepy hotel and the people in it only forced the Doctor to make more tough choices and to leave even more people behind. Spoilers ahoy!

Once again, the TARDIS takes the crew somewhere unexpected and scary, and once again Rory is peeved about it. But who can blame him? This time it’s a creepy Overlook-style hotel where every room contains a new horror. And one room holds your nightmare. (Mine would be the one where all my teeth fall out.)

Even the Doctor has a room, and while he discovers it, the audience is left in the dark. We do hear the cloister bell, which is an interesting clue. So we’re left to wonder what is the Doctor’s greatest fear, but we’re also left with the question of what does the Doctor put his faith in?

That’s right, faith. This episode was all about faith, and a beast that feeds on it. A very interesting concept that is well executed. I also loved all the little touches, like the portraits on the wall, lining the dummies up beside the bodies, and even the magazines in the salon. Yes, Doctor, the attention to detail was very impressive. Each of the rooms were weird (gorilla in the bathroom) and/or terrifying (sad clown!), with a wide variety of interesting horrors. The writers must have had a lot of fun coming up with them. The dummies were undoubtedly my favorite.

And the monster! The Minotaur was a great costume, and I loved all the swirling wrinkles in his skin, indicative of the Minotaur’s mazes. Doctor Who has battled Minotaurs in the past, including one that disappeared when he and his companion stopped believing in it.

This was another beautifully shot episode, with great use of camera angles, editing, and dolly zoom shots down endless hotel corridors. That’s right, if you want something to be creepy as hell, just use a dolly zoom.

The guest stars were interesting and once again multi-dimensional. Contrast Rita, Howie, and Gibbis to any character in The Rebel Flesh to see what I mean, and how much a fully realized character can contribute to the plot. Speaking of Gibbis, I had no idea he was played by David Walliams of Little Britain. The alien was a fun character with, once again, impressive makeup. Walliams was unrecognizable. I can’t help but wonder how much ad-libbing Walliams was allowed to do.

And a random side note: What was with the fish? Was it just another instance of the Doctor not leaving anyone behind? Seriously. What was with the fish? That damn fish got a lot of screen time.

But getting back to the more serious heart of the tale. The God Complex was all about preparation for death. This entire season has been pushing towards the Doctor’s death, and this episode is largely about his accepting that and getting himself and those he cares about ready for the inevitable. I believe he broke Amy’s faith in him, not only to save her from the Minotaur, but also to make his death easier on her. He’s not a hero, he is just a man. A deeply troubled and flawed man who is going to die.

His referring to her as Amy Williams at last could be construed as his giving the woman to her husband for safe keeping, but I saw it more as his telling her it’s time to live in the present. She needs to give up her raggedy Doctor and be who she is, who she would be if he never dropped into her life.

Leaving Amy and Rory behind was the kindest thing to do, but it didn’t leave me with the emotional upheaval it should have. I suppose I didn’t believe it. I told myself that he wouldn’t leave them behind, not forever, which I suppose reveals where my faith lies.

We have only two episodes left, kids. So I leave you with these questions: What was in the Doctor’s room? What does the Doctor put his faith in? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

I will be the first to admit (if the size of my ass doesn’t make it clear) that I don’t like to exercise. Yes, I could spend my free time jogging through the neighborhood, OR I could be sitting in my apartment playing Left 4 Dead. Guess which of those two options usually wins out? (Hint: my ass is huge.) But luckily for lazy, zombie-obsessed me, there might be an answer to my lack of workout motivation.

You tie your shoes, put on your headphones, take your first few steps outside. You’ve barely covered a hundred yards when you hear them. They must be close.

You can hear every gutteral breath, every rattling groan – they’re everywhere. Zombies. There’s only one thing you can do: Run!

Zombies, Run! is an ultra-immersive game for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android where you help rebuild civilisation after a zombie apocalypse. By going out and running in the real world, you can collect medicine, ammo, batteries, and spare parts that you can use to build up and expand your base – all while getting orders, clues, and story through your headphones.

This is a great idea. You’re running through a zombie story, trying to escape the hordes in your neighborhood. As you run, you automatically collect all your needed supplies. But you’ll also need to make decisions. Who gets the supplies? Where should the defenses be built? Who is behind the outbreak?

You receive orders and hear the story told through radio messages and voice recordings between your own custom playlists. Missions last around 20-30 minutes in real time and there’ll be over 30 unique missions in Season 1.

That’s right, Season 1. The plan is to continually update the app, with new missions to be released all the time. In addition to the game, Zombies, Run! also keeps track of your distance ran, time, pace, and calories burned. There’s also plans for multiplayer support in future versions.

Zombies, Run! is still on Kickstarter, but it hit it’s goal with 25 days still to go. The game will be available on iPod Touch, iPhone, and Android in early 2012.

Last week we were treated to a decent but companion-light episode of Doctor Who. This week we got the exact opposite in The Girl Who Waited. This adventure was more-companion focused, and it wasn’t decent. It was amazing. This episode was easily on par with Vincent and the Doctor in terms of emotional punch and incredible performances. Spoilers ahead!

I initially thought upon viewing that The Girl Who Waited had a higher budget, reflected in the costumes, impressive CGI and makeup. A little digging proved me wrong: this was apparently a budget-saving episode, having few sets and no guest stars. This is a credit to the creative team and the old-school Who spirit, being able to turn in an episode that makes so much out of so little.

Due to an outbreak of a a plague that affects Time Lords and not humans, the Doctor disappears to the safety of the TARDIS and is little more than a voice for much of the episode. You’d think you’d miss him. You might think that this would be a lame adventure and that the companions wouldn’t be able to carry an entire episode without the quirky title character.

You’d be very very wrong.

Karen Gillan is destined for greatness. Her performance in this episode was amazing and brought tears to my eyes. Her range as an actress honestly surprised me, and her portrayal of an Amy in her 50′s was understated, believable, heartbreaking, and just plain perfect. My favorite of her scenes was so brief yet spoke volumes: where old Amy contemplates putting on lipstick. The look in her eyes, the ability to portray what was going on in Amy’s head without saying a word was brilliant.

Amy being lost in time, waiting for her boys to save her reminded me of what happened/didn’t happen to Rory in The Doctor’s Wife. This is the first time we’ve had married companions, and I’m glad to see the writers exploring what it means to travel with the Doctor along with one you love.

Speaking of Rory, how cute did he look in those silly spectacles? Arthur Darvill also did a terrific job in this episode, particularly when he had to leave one of his Amys behind. “You’re turning me into YOU!” he spat at the Doctor, as usual always able to say the most painful truth to him. (See Vampires of Venice for another.)

Leaving Old Amy behind destroys yet another double Doctor possibility. As Rory and two Amys were running back to the TARDIS, I thought to myself, “Well, great. Maybe the Doctor when back and picked up another version of himself to die while he went on living.” Thankfully, the TARDIS can’t handle that big a paradox, to the possibility of his picking up another him is right out.

Remember Rule #1. The Doctor lies.

The villains, the handbots, were an interesting concept and rather well executed. The theme of “killing with kindness” could be applied to the Doctor himself in many cases, such as in The Beast Below, as well as here. He lied to then killed Old Amy to save her from ever having to live that life.

So that leaves us with this question, and you have to take any Gaiman fangirling out of the equation. Is The Girl Who Waited better than The Doctor’s Wife? Tell us what you think in the comments.