CRAZY SEXY GEEKS: Episode List

UPDATED!

We were away for a little bit, but now we're back. Each week, watch as fun geeky topics are discussed on "Crazy Sexy Geeks: The Series". Watch as we talk to people on the street and celebrities such as Tim Gunn, Rob Zombie, Amber Benson, Emma Caulfield, Edward James Olmos, Miracle Laurie and others. Topics range from discussing the best time travel story to delving into what makes a good film adaptation and whether or not more female super-heroes should wear pants.

Here are the episodes that are up so far. Enjoy!

Relaunch Trailer

Women Super-Heroes - Why are there so many great super-hero women and yet they aren't getting the spotlight when it comes to movies and TV? GUESTS: Amber Benson (actress, comic writer, filmmaker, novelist).

Remakes, Reboots & Sequels - Have we lost original ideas or is there something good about doing a reboot? And what's the real difference between doing a sequel, reboot or remake? GUESTS: David A. Mack (novelist, screenwriter), Edward James Olmos (actor, director), Rob Zombie (music artist, director).

Comics Without Spandex - Curious about comics that have nothing to do with super-heroes? There are plenty out there. GUESTS: David W. Mack (comic writer/artist), Emma Caulfield (actress, comic writer), David Petersen (writer/artist), Unshaven Comics, Deftoons Comics, Spike (comic artist/writer).

Super Hero Fashion! - What are the links between fashion and super-hero comics in this new day and age? And what's so cool about the Bloomingdale's DC Comics Fashion show? GUESTS: Tim Gunn (fashion consultant, creative director at Liz Claiborne), Batman, Catwoman. Featuring the DC Comics fashion show at Bloomingdale's NYC.

Horror Movie Debate! - Hosts Alan Kistler (hey, that's ME!) and Graham Skipper debate Freddy vs. Jason, Aliens vs. Predators, Michael Myers vs. Remake Michael Myers, and just what it is that makes these movie monsters so entertaining.

Wonder Woman Debate! - I go around asking different folks whether or not they think Wonder Woman's costume is impractical and she should really wear pants. GUESTS: Tim Gunn, Miracle Laurie (actress), Emma Caulfield, Gene Ha (comic artist), Alayna Lemmer (digital painter), Beth Horn ("Venom" of American Gladiators), Jennifer Widerstrom ("Phoenix" of American Gladiators) and others!

Kistler's Final Crisis Timeline

NEWLY UPDATED!

For your enjoyment, here is a timeline of the Final Crisis issues and tie-ins in rough chronological order. This is part of my Crisis Files and deals specifically with the third and final crisis.

And now the LEGEND:

Black lines connect the issues that are either part of the main storyline or which I think should be read in order to fully understand/appreciate the events of the main series.

Dotted lines show those stories that are related to the main series and add extra insight. However, these stories aren't, in my opinion, required reading by any means.

Blue shows Superman's path when he was transported into the 31st century, not returning to the present until Final Crisis 6. It's just to help you have a visual idea of where and when he was during some of the story.

Click to read more ...

Kistler's History of Firestorm

Before we begin, I want to thank writers Michael A. Burstein and Bob Greenberger for their invaluable/helpful contributions to this article and its research. Thanks guys, seriously.

OUR HEROES IN A NUTSHELL

With rare exception, the power of Firestorm is such that it's meant to be wielded not by one heroic person but by two working in conjunction.

It began when a teenager named Ronnie Raymond was caught in a nuclear explosion along with Professor Martin Stein. Rather than being atomized, the two were fused into a super-powered being who could fly, fire energy blasts and rearrange matter at will: Firestorm, the "nuclear man." With Ronnie as the dominant personality, Firestorm became a formidable super-hero and for a time he served alongside the Justice League of America as its youngest member at the time.

Eventually, it was discovered that the nuclear explosion which created Firestorm had been intended to turn Martin Stein into a fire elemental. Ronnie's presence had been accidental and disrupted the process. When Stein at last received the power he was always meant to have, he became an elemental and used his great powers to find a new life in the stars. Ronnie was left on Earth, powerless and human. Later on, Stein gave the young man a portion of his cosmic power, allowing Ronnie to now become Firestorm all by himself at will. Without the guidance of Professor Stein, Ronnie now had a harder time operating as a super-hero but still gave it his best. Eventually though, he was killed in battle.

But energy cannot be destroyed. And so, even with Ronnie's death, the power of Firestorm didn't simply go away. Instead, it journeyed outward until it found a new host: teenager Jason Thomas Rusch. After merging with a variety of different people to help activate and stabilize his powers, Jason now fuses with his girlfriend Gehenna whenever he needs to become the nuclear-powered super-hero. Like Ronnie before him, he has served alongside the Justice League and has gained a mentor in Martin Stein, who has recently returned to Earth and is once again a normal human being. What will happen to Jason next remains to be seen, but he's having a fun time while he's at it. 

A lot of heroes have trouble at times balancing between their two lives. They’ll be on a date and then a super-villain will tear through the city and they have to think of some excuse to give their friends or co-workers about why they suddenly need to leave, etc. Well, imagine how much more difficult it would be if you not only had to balance your own double-life, but also the life of another person entirely.

That's the basics. Want the full story? Read on ...

Click to read more ...

STAR TREK Movie Annotations

The following was originally published on ComicMix.com. It has been expanded slightly for this web-site.

This article is part of my Star Trek Guide.

The new Star Trek movie has been blowing people away, providing an introduction for new fans and an alternate time line that allows for even old fans to be surprised.

Every article and review has mentioned how time travel is being used to explain/justify this reboot, this new take on things where old rules are broken or, at least, revised. And yet, it is clear that the writers involved have an affection for what came before, making many references to the canon old school fans know and love.

Thus, we have put together this list of references and nods to other Trek stories. BE WARNED, SPOILERS ABOUND BELOW. If you have not yet seen the new Star Trek film, DO NOT continue reading so you can fully enjoy the story later for yourself.

And now, your list of continuity references.

-* The film begins with a scene involving the U.S.S. Kelvin. Although Kelvin is also a form of measurement named after the scientist Kelvin, this ship was actually named after J.J. Abrams' grandfather.

-* When Capt. Robau boards the Nerada, he asks where Nero and his crew are from, indicating he does not know a Romulan by sight. At this time in Star Trek history, the Romulans had faced the forces of Earth and the United Federation of Planets on many occasions, yes, but they had never revealed their actual faces in the process, communicating with other ships only via audio transmission. Thus, it's understandable that Robau does not recognize Nero's race.

Click to read more ...

Kistler's History of the Time Lords

This article is part of my Doctor Who Guide.

This is a discussion of the Time Lords as has been officially established in the new and classic TV series. Although several novels have gone into further detail concerning the beginnings of Time Lord history, these will not be discussed in great detail since their canonical status is in question. If that bothers you, sorry. It's just how I do things.

GALLIFREY & THE TIME LORDS

When he first appeared, the Doctor said only that he was an exile and was from "another world, another time." In the Second Doctor's adventure "The War Games", six years after the first episode had aired, we learned his people were called Time Lords.

As the Doctor explained in that story: "The Time Lords are an immensely civilized race. We can control our own environment. We can live forever, barring accidents, and we have the secret of space-time travel. Well, we hardly ever use our great powers. We get sent simply to observe and gather knowledge." The Doctor explained further that it was forbidden for a Time Lord to interfere with the lesser races of the universe (though we would later learn that exceptions were made to this rule).

It was not until "The Time Warrior" (TV story 70), over ten years after the show's first episode had aired, that we learned the Time Lords lived on a planet called Gallifrey. Years later, in the Fourth Doctor adventure "Pyramids of Mars" (TV story 82), he revealed that the planet Gallifrey was located "in the constellation of Kasterborus." In "The Invasion of Time" (TV story 97), it was indicated by the cover piece on the Eye of Harmony (more on the Eye later) that Gallifrey was one of six planets in its solar system.

In the TV story "The Sensorites", the Doctor's granddaughter Susan talked about her home world and said "The sky is orange. And the leaves on the trees are silver." The Doctor made a similar statement in the new series in the episode "Gridlock" when he described his home to a companion. The Doctor also mentioned that the planet definitely had mountains, as he had grown up near or on the mountains of South Gallifrey (established in the TV stories "The Time Monster" and "State of Decay").

In "Gridlock", the Doctor described his planet in further detail: "[On Gallifrey,] the sky's a bunt orange, with the Citadel enclosed in a mighty, glass dome shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of beat-red grass capped with snow ... The second sun would rise in the south and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver and when they caught the light every morning it looked like the forest was on fire."

In the TV story "The Sound of Drums", the Doctor again described his home world: "We used to call it the shining world of the seventh system. And on the continent of Wild Endeavor, in the mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords ... The oldest and most mighty race in the universe, looking down on the galaxies below. Sworn never to interfere, only to watch."

As we learned more about the Time Lords, it was obvious that the Doctor had been exaggerating (as he often does) when he said that his people could live forever. Though they were gifted with the power to regenerate their form, they could only do this 12 times and each body would eventually wear out. For this reason, certain Time Lords sought to achieve true immortality, such as the Master and another Time Lord featured in the TV special "The Five Doctors."

In "The Deadly Assassin" and "The Invasion of Time", there were references to a transduction barrier and a quantum force-field around Gallifrey that seemingly prevented invasion and presumably also kept anyone from traveling to Gallifrey's past (an understandable precaution from a society of time travelers).

IN THE BEGINNING ...

But how did the society of Time Lords begin? Well, it truly started with the scientists Omega and Rassilon.

"A long time ago, on my home planet of Gallifrey, there lived a stellar engineer called Omega ... It was Omega who created the supernova that was the initial power-source for Gallifreyan time travel experiments. He left behind him the basis on which Rassilon founded Time Lord society.And he left behind the Hand of Omega ... Not his hand literally, no, no.It was called that because Time Lords have an infinite capacity for pretension. The Hand of Omega is a mythical name for Omega's remote stellar manipulator, a device used to customize stars with." - The Seventh Doctor, from "Remembrance of the Daleks"

Omega's device caused the star to erupt like a supernova and then collapse into a black hole. Rassilon stabilized this into a power source strong enough to make time travel possible. It seemed that Omega was destroyed in the same explosion, but later it was discovered that he had survived, taken through the event horizon and into an anti-matter reality.

In "The Three Doctors" (TV story 65), we heard some of the story from Omega's own words. "It was an honor! Or so I thought then. I was to be the one to find and create the power source that would give us mastery over time itself ... I was sacrificed to that supernova. I generated those forces and for what? To be blown out of existence into this black hole of anti-matter? My brothers became Time Lords, while I was abandoned and forgotten!"

Click to read more ...