Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2151

Supercut of Wolverine’s 30+ Years of Film and TV Clawings

The videos that Burger Fiction puts together are always a great time and their latest that showcases everyone’s favorite Canadian X-man in anticipation for the release of Logan is no exception.

It’s, dare we say, uncanny that Wolverine’s beserker rage jumped from the pages of comic books into animation as far back as 1982 when he appeared in Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends albeit with an inexplicable Australian accent. That odd choice of an voice continued in his next appearance in Pryde of The X-Men (which may show up in its entirety on YouTube should you search for it) but was corrected after that. It seems there was a general consensus that a beer-drinking, cigar-smoking loner would probably have a rough gravelly voice (without an accent from the opposite side of the world) and it’s been that way for every appearance of the black and yellow-clad clawed Canuck ever since.

What’s impressive is that Burger Fiction doesn’t seem to skimp on any Wolverine appearances making sure to include the ones played for laughs in parody movies and TV shows like MADtv, Robot Chicken, The Pete Holmes Show, and the short-lived Bad Days. And other than Hugh Jackman’s bad-ass appearances in the X-Men movies, our absolute favorite Wolverine moment is included from Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. In it, a character confronts the real Hugh Jackman and it seems–after 17 years of playing Logan/Wolverine–the only way he knows how to fight is in character.

What do you think of Burger Fiction’s latest super-cut? Did they miss any important Wolverine appearances over the last 30+ years? Let’s discuss in the comments below, Bub!

Image: Fox

Here’s Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart on their first and last X-days!

THE EXPANSE Recap: The Epstein Drive Creates a Paradigm Shift

Fair warning: this recap includes spoilers for The Expanse that go faster than you expect—don’t say we didn’t warn you ahead of time!

After the draining ride to Venus we took last week, “Paradigm Shift” was destined to be a breather while we press the reset button. Fortunately, this is one of those moments where The Expanse truly shines. It does not take its chess games lightly.

In order to pick up the scattered pieces, we went all the way back, 137 years ago, to when Solomon Epstein (Sam Huntington) first accidentally changed everything with the Epstein Drive. He meant to make a few minor adjustments to gain fuel efficiency, but as we see threaded throughout the episode, he invented a way for ships to go crazy fast without burning much fuel at all. To celebrate that achievement, one that changed the game for a rising Mars, he was crushed to death. It was both a parallel to the high G burn we saw the Roci crew bravely pull off last week and a thematic nod to creating something life-changing without knowing quite what you’ve done. After all, The Expanse is a show that orbits around an incredible force beyond human control.

Speaking of the Protomolecule (which is definitely a life form, right? Right??), Team Rocinante left a batch of it hidden away in space which they had to deal with. Should they destroy the sample, keep it hidden, or give to one of the competing powers of the galaxy? Are they sure that–following the Eros crash–theirs was the only sample left?

After a healthy debate, Holden (Steven Strait) decided the only way to win was not to play and ordered the sample destroyed by throwing it into the sun (because if you’re gonna do it right…). Naomi (Dominique Tipper) launched it…with a mysterious scowl on her face. What was really loaded on that missile? Did she leave the sample somewhere else? If so, why?

Yes, this episode left a lot of questions in its wake.

Naomi and Holden also had business with Colonel Johnson (Chad L. Coleman) after Alex (Cas Anvar) pointed out that 30 of the planet-buster nukes the Earth launched at Eros didn’t respond to the deactivation signal. Surprise surprise! Johnson shut them down and took control of them. There’s an exclamation mark there because, come on, it’s the least surprising development. It was too hard to turn down a gift like that–something that could really fortify the terrorist/freedom fighter movement.

Johnson confronted Holden about why they cut thrust after coming back from Eros the first time (when they were debating what to do with their sample, also for the first time), and Holden sold him a convenient lie couched in the truth about Miller’s friend getting killed and needing a proper burial “at sea.” As with all things on this show, either Johnson was convinced because he thinks Holden is more simple-minded than he really is, or Johnson pretended to be convinced because he’s a master manipulator.

Naomi can also be counted among those ranks, as she urged Johnson to help sell the story of Miller and Julie Mao as star cross’d lovers for people on Earth to empathize with in hopes of creating understanding and gain empathy for the cause of cross-cultural peace. It’s a stellar idea that was doomed to failure from the start.

Back on Earth, the U.N. proved its bureaucratic inability to move mountains. Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) is so, so, so much better at playing the game than everyone else that, again this week, she shifted thinking on what they should do regarding Mars and followed it up by putting Errinwright (Shawn Doyle) in his place and putting Mao (François Chau) in his place through Errinwright. Good God of War, she’s a joy to watch. She’s gonna ruin the whole family and burn them to the ground if Mao doesn’t come in from the cold.

The U.N. contemplated whether Eros was proof that Mars was on the cusp of powerful tech that would shift the balance in their favor. Colonel Janus (Conrad Pia) argued that it was the only thing that made sense (no doubt stung by the historical example of the Epstein Drive), but Avasarala was (as ever) playing with secret knowledge and straightforward common sense. Why would Mars want to test their cutting edge weapon inside a biohazard zone of their own creation? Seriously. Nice try, Janus. Take a knee.

We also finally caught up with the Martian Marines led by Gunny Draper (Frankie Adams) who’ve been MIA from the most recent, no-fat, high-adventure episodes. They were sent to the boring old farming moon of Ganymede last we saw, they’re still there, and they were still pissed about the assignment.

After U.N. Marines appear to charge toward them near the DMZ border, after Overwatch loses communications with them, and after the ship is blasted out of low orbit by bullets blazing, the crew probably stopped thinking they got the short end of the action stick.

We’re left with Draper, who shifted her team into battle gear, semi-conscious, suffering some serious damage. After all the high temperatures and necessary cool downs, war may have just broken out on the remote edge of the farm. Something about the look on Draper’s face tells me that this genie isn’t getting shoved back into the bottle.

SOME STRAY THOUGHTS: 

Diogo scored a nice little cult following there. It’s also nice to know that airbrush art is still popular this far into the future.
The way creepy Eros scientist was Minority Reporting his way through those ProtoWhispers makes me think he’s bound for a Gollum-like ride into the volcano at some point.
Why do the Martian Marines go on patrol with no supplies? They’ve got radios and everything built into their suits, but no one’s lugging any emergency gear or first aid or anything. Seems stark in that barren landscape.
You can just rent a room for, like, a week at a brothel?
What just happened on Ganymede??????

Images: NBC/SyFy

LEGION Recap: Chapter 4

 Spoilers for Legion follow. Be forewarned. Shall we begin?

All right, I can admit when I’m wrong. After tonight’s incredibly gripping Legion episode, I’ve pivoted on who I think the yellow-eyed monster who creeps around in David’s subconscious is, and the key to his identity is not where you’d expect to find it.

But I’m getting ahead of myself! To really understand what’s going on in this episode, we have to divide it into two parts: the stuff that goes on in reality, and the stuff that goes on outside of it. Let’s start with the former, because that makes the most sense.

After last week’s disastrous memory work session, David has been rendered completely comatose, but his mind is still mysteriously active. Thinking that David’s memories are still the key to helping him recover, Dr. Bird sends Melanie, Ptonomy and Kerry to search for answers. First they visit the office of David’s psychiatrist, where they realize that David must have attacked the doctor while trying to steal from him. Except, Syd figures, maybe instead he was trying to destroy the evidence of their last conversation. But why?

Next, their journey leads them next to David’s ex-girlfriend, who drops another bomb on them: Lenny wasn’t David’s drug-addicted friend! That was actually a completely different guy named Benny. And she leaves them with a cryptic warning for David: “They’re watching.”All these new revelations are seriously messing with both Ptonomy, who’s starting to feel like David is more trouble than he’s worth, and Syd, who worries that her feelings for David might not be real after all. “Did I love him or the idea of him?” she asks herself in dreamy, film-noir narration. “Who are we if not the stories we tell ourselves?”

Kerry (Amber Midthunder, who’s great in this episode), in contrast, seems pretty chill, and through that we learn more about what it’s like for her to live inside a shared body. Despite the fact that both Kerry and their parents are Native American and Cary is white, he’s more or less the Alpha; Kerry only really comes out when there’s a fight to be had, and doesn’t age while she’s inside him. This worries Syd, who sympathizes with the horror of not having ownership over your own body, but Kerry seems fine with it. According to her, he does all the “boring stuff” like eat and sleep and breathe, and she gets to kick ass and take names. “He makes me laugh,” she says. “I keep him safe.”

Unfortunately, she’s having a pretty hard time of doing that. When Syd and the gang finally track down David’s former doctor, it turns out to be a trap. It’s really The Eye, who evidently has some kind of shapeshifting or illusory powers, and Kerry is quickly outmatched (and Cary feels her pain from Summerland, in a beautifully directed scene). Just when things look especially bad, Syd swaps places with The Eye and pretends she’s taking her captive friends back to the Division 3 headquarters.

Speaking of Division 3, I almost forgot: while all this is happening, we check in with David’s sister, Amy, who’s being held prisoner along with Dr. Kissinger, the psychiatrist at Clockworks Mental Hospital. And in their conversation we discover another shocker: that beagle dog David says he had growing up, King? He never existed. COOL. GREAT.

On that creepy note that definitely doesn’t bode well, let’s go catch up with David! Turns out that he’s accidentally flung himself into the Astral Plane, a dimension that exists somewhere between reality and dreams. And he’s not alone, either! Dr. Bird’s husband Oliver (Jemaine Clement) is here, too, and because his body is being stored somewhere cold in the real world, he lives in a giant ice cube. Oliver appears to have lost his grip on reality, but he does know one thing: that monster in David’s head isn’t a “metaphor.” He’s extremely real, and he’s skulking around outside.

So, about this monster. You might recall that I’ve been jokingly calling him Mojo based on his grotesque appearance, and way back during our first episode recap, I shrugged off the idea that he might be the Shadow King instead. Now, however, it’s looking like I have to change my tune. A creature beyond who exists in the Astral Plane? An imaginary dog named “King?” That feels like a pretty obvious clue, don’t you think?

Anyway! After David leaves Oliver to wander around the Astral Plane, Lenny shows up, and something about her seems off. This time David doesn’t feel like trusting her so much, and Lenny sidesteps his questions to make this point: they (yes, they) need to get back into David’s body. So he shows him something that’s bound to make him react: The Eye standing over Syd’s body, holding a knife.

And this is where the two storylines converge: David, thinking that Syd is in trouble, teleports to where they are and pins her down while she’s still stuck in The Eye’s body. In the ensuing confusion, The real Eye gets loose, shoots Kerry in the chest and escapes. But he’s not the only baddie who’s somewhere they shouldn’t be—Lenny came back through the Astral Plane with David, too, and now she’s looking a little more yellow and monstrous.

So wait, was Lenny the Shadow King this whole time? Or is he using her likeness to get in good with David? Seriously, what the heck is happening??? If you think you know, tell us all about your theories in the comments!

Images: FX Networks

THE MAGICIANS Recap: Fillory Goes to War in ‘The Cock Barrens’

Spoiler Alert: the following recap contains major spoilers from Wednesday’s episode of The Magicians, “The Cock Barrens.” It is a recap, after all! Don’t say we didn’t warn you …

All hell has officially broken loose in Fillory, and no, I’m not just talking about how dick-shaped rocks played a major part in this week’s episode of The Magicians. “The Cock Barrens” was definitely an hour that set up where all the characters and stories will be heading in the back half of season two, but that doesn’t mean it was all filler. In fact, we actually got a whole lot of important information while Margo proved that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned is not just a well-known phrase. Let’s get recapping, shall we?

Quentin was desperate to finish Alice’s niffin reversal spell that she had been trying to use on her brother before she died, but he needed to find her first. Everyone was convinced he was just going crazy with grief, and he started to believe them. Since he wanted to pay his respects to her parents, he showed up at her memorial back in the real world, and that’s where he finally found Alice, still a niffin and definitely not dead like everyone thought. But she was definitely weak and needed his help.

Niffin Alice led him to a spell that would help her Ka, her soul, finally rest, and so Quentin convinced her parents to do the spell, but they both couldn’t finish it because they couldn’t face those emotions. They each broke down in various ways, leaving Quentin to fend for himself. That’s when niffin Alice showed up looking more powerful than ever, and laughed in Quentin’s face. She was just playing with him the whole time, and only wanted to emotionally torture her parents. She’s actually trapped inside Quentin’s tattoo on his back, and ominously told him they were going to have so much fun together. That can’t be good!

Meanwhile, in Fillory, Prince Ess from Loria made the castle disappear with everyone inside of it, and held them all hostage in Loria with his army until Eliot and Margo agreed to split the Magical Wellspring… and if Margo agreed to marry him. She was not having it, until she hooked up with Ess. Then she was all for it. Apparently he’s got some skills in the bedroom.

But when Penny’s dream hopped into Margo’s mind while she was asleep to help track down wherever the castle disappeared to, he realized something was fishy. With Margo’s astute observations that the rocks outside looked like dicks, Penny tried to travel to Loria, but the castle was nowhere to be found. That’s when he realized the Lorians were just screwing with the Fillorians, and they only used an illusion spell to make everyone think they were kidnapped when they never actually left! Margo called Ess’ bluff and exposed him and the Lorians for the liars they are, and furiously declared war on all of Loria. Eliot was not enthused.

And back in NYC, Julia and Kady finally tracked down the woman who banished Reynard 40 years ago, Dana. Kady was off following a lead on how to take care of Julia’s pregnancy, so Julia went by herself to get information on how to banish Reynard again. But Dana revealed the only way to banish the god was for Julia to have her magical demigod baby and harness the energy from its birth like a tiny nuclear reactor for the spell. That’s how she banished Reynard all those years ago, and she’s been using a Haxenpaxen to make herself invisible from any and all magical creatures ever since. She made sure her demigod baby was safe and will never know the truth about who he is. But Kady showed up just in time to save Julia from Dana, and they escaped with the Haxenpaxen, leaving Dana exposed. Reynard found her almost immediately … and I’ll let you take a wild guess as to what he did with her. Yikes.

MAGICAL MOMENTS:

– Alice’s mother really is a piece of work. It’s no wonder why Alice grew up the way she did with parents like that.

– Fen finally confessed about her past with Bayler to Eliot, and he was not happy about it, to say the least. But he just started to like his wife, so he’s not going to just have her killed for treason. Diplomacy is complicated, y’all.

– Penny’s newly forged friendship with the royal Fillorian mapmaker is my favorite thing ever. More of this, please.

QUALITY QUOTES:

Eliot, to Quentin: Why don’t we get you back to the castle, huh? Get some rest? Some food? And hey, there’s an entire kingdom’s worth of problems to distract you … We really are beset.

Kady’s toast with magic methadone: To all the heroin I am not taking.

Eliot: Ho-ly s-t. The walking plot twist returns.

Penny: Hi. I need something.

Eliot: Shocker. Hey Fen, look who it is. Unc-ey Penny. That’s right, I knocked her up. No big deal.

Penny: Uh … congratulations?

Eliot: Like I needed more people calling me daddy, but yes. Thanks. We’re … thrilled [sigh].

Penny: You got a royal botanist or something?

Eliot: We did, but apparently he sort of got eaten on the job.

Penny, lauging: By what, a plant?!

Eliot: [Stares].

Penny, rolling his eyes: I. Hate. This. Place.

Margo: Did he just call me a virgin?!

Eliot: Bambi, let me, please.

Margo: No, you’re not leaving me in a castle full of barbarian frat bros.

Eliot: You could have been a little diplomatic.

Margo: By agreeing to marry a complete stranger on the spot?!

Eliot: I did it!

Margo, pausing: That was different.

Eliot: You’re right. This would only really be equivalent if Ess was a girl and you found pussy, you know, interesting in a sometimes you like Thai food kind of way. And now it’s all Thai food, forever, until you die.

Margo: No. He’s a man who seems arrogant and entitled and unclear on the concept of consent. I can’t imagine what could possibly go wrong.

Penny: Where are you?

Margo: Loria, some canyon with these purpleish rock things.

Penny: Rock things?

Margo: Dicks, okay?! They look like dicks.

Penny, laughing: Full scale, or half?

Margo: Honestly? It’s a variety pack out there.

Ess: Scouring the room for a weapon? You have a look in your eyes, that’s all.

Margo: It’s called resting b-h face.

Kady after smelling the Haxenpaxen: Oh god, what’s with stink master flash?

Margo: You f-ked with us.

Eliot: Mm hm. Yes he did.

Margo: You f-ked with our castle.

Eliot: Amen, sister.

Margo: And now we’re going to put our Jimmy Choos so far up your ass, you’re going to taste next season.

Eliot: Exactly … whatever that means.

Margo: Because the High King and I hereby declare war on the kingdom of Loria.

Eliot: Yes! Wait … really?!

What did you think of this week’s The Magicians? Tweet me at @SydneyBucksbaum!

Images: Syfy

The Magicians airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Syfy.

THE 100 Recap: ‘The Tinder Box’ Explodes Any and All Hope for Survival

Warning: the following recap contains major spoilers from Wednesday’s episode of The 100, “The Tinder Box.” It is a recap, after all! Don’t say we didn’t warn you …

You just can’t keep our girl Octavia down on The 100! Even when Echo ran her through with a sword and she fell off a cliff into raging waters, gravely wounded, she still ended up making it home to Arkadia at the top of this week’s hour … but only because our least favorite Grounder with a grudge against Skaikru, Ilian, was already on his way there to destroy the Ark. A lot happened in the explosive “Tinder Box,” so let’s get right to recapping it, shall we?

While on his way to destroy any and all tech inside Arkadia, Ilian came across Octavia in the woods, bleeding to death. While he did save her life by bringing her to Arkadia, he only did it so he could slip inside undetected. He still blamed Skaikru technology for killing his family, and he got his revenge at the expense of everyone hoping to use the Ark to survive the incoming death wave of radiation, because he blew up the entire ship. There goes Plan B!

But it wasn’t just Skaikru who was counting on surviving inside the Ark. Thanks to a peace treaty struck between Roan and Clarke right when Azgeda was on the cusp of war with Skaikru, they were all planning to split the 100 spots in half between Skaikru and Azgeda when the death wave came. Yeah, a lot happened in this week’s episode. The Ice Nation army was marching on Arkadia, ready to attack, but thankfully Octavia got to Arkadia right in time to warn her people, and Clarke used the element of surprise to even the playing field so they could all come to an agreement without any bloodshed.

A close call came in the form of everyone’s favorite Skaikru guard Riley, who almost sparked the “tinder box” standoff situation by trying to assassinate Roan to get revenge on Ice Nation for making him a slave, but Bellamy helped talk him down from making that big mistake. It was Monty, however, who was the big hero of the hour, diffusing the situation with an incredible amount of bravery, risking his own life to make sure that war was avoided … at least, for now.

And on ALIE’s island in Becca’s lab, Raven used her “upgraded brain” to figure out that Becca created Nightblood in space, and they needed a zero gravity environment to recreate the serum, aka they need to use Becca’s rocket to go into space. But by using the EMP on her chip instead of having Clarke shut it down the right way last season, Raven has severe brain damage that could kill her. She’s already started to have debilitating seizures. Since Abby also used the EMP to fry her own chip, she runs that risk too – she even started hallucinating seeing Clarke with radiation poisoning in the lab. Something tells me one of these women will die before next season comes around. And I am not going to be happy no matter who ends up drawing the short straw.

Other noteworthy moments:

– The reason that Nightblood is the key to surviving the radiation death wave is because Becca designed it to protect the Commander from the radiation emitted from the Flame. It all makes sense!

– Monty’s still holding a grudge against Clarke for how she treated Jasper, and honestly, I don’t really blame him.

– Repeat after me: “The radiation is our enemy, not the Ice Nation.” And vice versa. Stop trying to cause war when there are bigger fish to fry! Sheesh. Everyone needs to get their eye on the prize here, especially since that prize is survival.

– The look on Bellamy’s face when he realized Octavia had to be the one who warned Skaikru about Azgeda’s incoming attack was palpable. Chills. I am still holding a flame for these siblings to mend their fences and get back to a good place with each other. #Blakereunion2017

– Fun fact this episode reminded us all of: Both Clarke and Roan were willing to sacrifice their own mothers for the greater good. “Ain’t we a pair,” indeed.

What did you think of this week’s episode? Tweet me all things The 100 at @SydneyBucksbaum!

Images: The CW

The 100 airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.

Nerdist Podcast: Catherine O’Hara

Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone, SCTV, Best in Show) talks to Chris about the early days of Second City, being a woman in improv and the time Lucille Ball saw her do comedy. She also talks about making the Christopher Guest movies, her many different roles over the years and Schitt’s Creek!

Image: Cindy Ord / Stringer

Super Cool Science Toys Replicate the Gravity of the Moon and Mars

The idea of bouncing around in the moon‘s low gravity is so appealing that an entire industry was formed to recreate the experience for kids at their birthday parties. But since walking on the moon is currently an impossible dream for most of us, it’s hard to understand just how different its gravity is compared to that of earth, or for us to comprehend what the gravity will be like when mankind reaches its next celestial destination, Mars. How can we non-astronauts tangibly grasp those differences when we aren’t going to space any time soon?

It turns out a brilliantly designed, handheld desk toy will let you see how much slower an object will fall on the moon or mars due to the very different gravity of each. “Inspired by space missions,” the Moondrop uses “simple physics” to make a slider fall at a rate equivalent to that of the gravity of the moon or Mars.

https://ksr-video.imgix.net/projects/2683465/video-750678-h264_high.mp4

The moon’s gravity of 1.622 m/s² is roughly a sixth of our planet’s (9.807 m/s²), with Mars’ gravity of 3.711 m/s² roughly 2.6 less than earth’s. The two different forms of the Moondrop show the falling speeds of each celestial body.

Made with the “latest cutting edge technology using precision CNC machining,” the body for both versions, as well as the slider for the Lunar Moondrop, is made from “Aerospace grade aluminum,” with the Mars’s slider made out of pure copper. The design of each toy is based on physic’s “well known” Lenz’s law, which you can read about in more depth on the Kickstarter page, but the simplest explanation is “magnets.” The magnets inside create forces that slow down the slider, seamlessly mimicking the gravity of either the moon or Mars. You can remove the magnets though to return them to earth’s (boring old) gravity.

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While we’re always super excited by a simple but awesome display of a scientific concept, we’re also really into their other selling point about how this is the perfect toy for fidgety people (guilty!). At roughly 2.7 inches in total length, this pocket-sized contraption is the perfect object to mindlessly spin around or play with while working, or letting your mind drift to the stars.

And it’s clear we aren’t the only ones, since with still almost four weeks left, they have easily exceeded their pledge goal of over 6,000 dollars U.S., with over a thousand backers contributing over $51,000 to the Moondrop. You can get one of your choosing for around 26 dollars, or get both (or two of the same if you prefer) for 44 dollars, with other packages available if you want a whole lot more. (As of this writing there are still a few early bird options available too, so if you want to save a little money act fast.)

With the project already funded, they say the parts will be ordered in April, with full scale production beginning in May, and a target date of June to start shipping orders.

And the nicest thing is that once you get your Moondrop you get to keep it, unlike those moon bouncy castles they only let us rent for a few hours. We prefer our moon gravity experiences to follow the laws of physics, anyway.

What other planets or celestial bodies would you like to have a Moondrop for? Drop down into our comments section at whatever gravitational speed you like and tell us what you think.

Images: Moondrop/Kristoph Krisjans

Meet the Japanese Robot That Teaches Humans to Play Ping Pong

When the singularity happens and the machines overthrow the Earth, we’ll have this Japanese ping pong robot to thank for it. Omron robotics developed a machine named FORPHEUS to play table tennis with people and help them improve their skills.

A recent post on Laughing Squid introduced us to our future robot overlord FORPHEUS (Future Omron Robotics Technology for Exploring Possibility of Harmonized aUtomation with Sinic Theoretics) from a video posted to the Guinness World Records YouTube channel. The robot–which received the record for “First Robot Table Tennis Tutor”–uses multiple cameras, motion sensors, and AI programming to assess the player’s skill level and adapt accordingly. The designers made FORPHEUS display messages of encouragement on a screen to keep players motivated and the company even made a feel-good ad where it helps a father and daughter bond.



Though, we wonder if there’s some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy going on here since FORPHEUS looks strikingly similar to the squid robots from The Matrix. And we can’t ignore that it’s one letter off from a certain character’s name! Hear us out. What if realities are collapsing in on each other, The Matrix is actually real, and somewhere along the line Laurence Fishburne is all “I’m better than that robot! I’m so much more! From now on, call me MORE-pheus!”

Truthfully, FORPHEUS is a pretty darn cool machine. And even though it’s an expensive AI-controlled machine designed to replace the concept of folding up the other half of a ping pong table, it is a proof of concept that more advanced teaching robots could be designed in the future.

What do you think of FORPHEUS? Be careful what you say in the comments below, it’s probably listening.

Image: Guinness World Records

4 Reasons You Should Be Watching RIVERDALE

When news of a dark and gritty Archie Comics adaptation was first announced at the beginning of last year, it was met with mixed reception from avid fans of the gang from Riverdale. Could these classic and well-loved characters really be retooled to fit a more dramatic series? While Riverdale has certainly been delivering on its pre-air promises of a “subversive” show, it’s far from the first time Archie and co. have found themselves in a darker set of circumstances than most fans are used to seeing them. (The comic series Afterlife with Archie, for example, featured LITERAL zombies.)

The good news is: Riverdale has been succeeding on a lot of fronts. It’s managed to capture the spirit of familiar characters – like Archie, Betty, and Veronica – within the atmosphere of a series that combines the classic story arc of a murder mystery with complex, layered portrayals of fictional young adults. The not so good news is that in spite of the buzz surrounding the series, it hasn’t been doing so hot in the ratings department. That alone isn’t enough to necessarily send the show to cancellation purgatory, however – the CW has made some recent renewal choices that clearly prioritize series quality over a big ratings draw (see: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend). All that being said, a few more eyes on Riverdale probably wouldn’t hurt at this stage.

So, why should you be giving this show a shot? Allow us to give you a few reasons:

IT FLIPS THE SCRIPT ON CLASSIC TEEN DRAMA TROPES

We all know the cookie-cutter stereotypes we often see in network teen dramas: the jock, the mean girl, the slacker, the perfectionist. There are definite shades of those in Riverdale, but what the show has managed to do differently is give each of its archetypical characters more dimensions – which, in turn, has led to way more interesting dynamics over the course of the five episodes we’ve gotten so far.

Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch), for example, could have easily become the typical “mean girl” of the series given her prickly treatment of Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) or her rivalry with Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), but Riverdale shows these young women fighting and cooperating in equal measure – lending evidence to the fact that teen girls are more than just catfights and shallow rivalries. Similarly, while it would have been convenient for the show to follow the path of the comics and pit Betty and Veronica against each other over Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), Riverdale has taken a different route so far and allowed the two to become friends outside of any boy they may or may not have feelings for.

IT’S A GENRE LOVER’S DREAM SHOW

Every Riverdale fan you talk to has a different take on the influences of the series: it’s noir, it’s Gothic romance, it’s Twin Peaks meets Dawson’s Creek. The truth is that the show embraces all of those inspirations and then some; you can find shades of more than one genre lurking under the surface with every episode that airs.

As recent darker comic arcs have demonstrated, Archie and his friends not only do well in darker plots – they thrive. As a result, the show has the ability to push these characters into some of their most intense storylines yet. Betty isn’t just the perfect student; she also might be harboring a dark side. Meanwhile, the ghost of Jason Blossom has continued to loom over Archie for a while now – and it’s not just because both of them have red hair. The wackier this show gets with its various plot twists and turns, the better (and juicier) it gets. Part of the fun of watching Riverdale is about the desire to see just how far these writers are willing to go.

IT HAS A THOROUGHLY ENGAGING MYSTERY

Speaking of Jason Blossom: did we mention he gets killed off in the first episode?! It was a gutsy choice for the show to kill off a character who Archie Comics fans are probably very familiar with. That being said, Jason isn’t exactly “out of sight, out of mind” for the remainder of the series; his death sets up what will be the underlying mystery for the foreseeable future of season one.

As each episode ticks by, a voiceover by passive observer Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) reminds viewers that we’re getting closer and closer to learning the identity of Jason Blossom’s murderer. Fans have already started speculating, but the show has tossed in several red herrings – leading to the disconcerting realization that it could still literally be anyone from the characters we all know and love.

IT’S GOT EVEN MORE POTENTIAL AHEAD

While Riverdale has been doing some things very well, there are other stories that could use a little more fleshing out. Comics fans have been calling for the show to commit to depicting Jughead as asexual, something that was revealed in Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson’s Jughead solo comic last year. The minds behind the series have chosen not to explicitly establish Riverdale‘s version of Jug that way, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve run out of time to course-correct in the way of ace representation. Bringing the show back for a second season would allow the series that opportunity, as well as other chances to shine the spotlight on some of the supporting cast. (Raise your hand if you’d love to see a Reggie Mantle-centric episode.)

And in terms of the mysteries of Riverdale, surely the identity of Jason Blossom’s murderer isn’t the only one that could be uncovered in future seasons. It seems reasonable to expect that even after all the loose ends of that storyline are tied up there would be other, equally intriguing secrets lurking in the underbelly beneath the innocent facade of Riverdale. (No town is that perfect.)

Have you been keeping up with Riverdale every week? If so, what are your thoughts on it so far? (Thank Pop for no more Grundy, amirite?) Let’s chat over a milkshake or two in the comments!

Images: The CW.

Let’s look at some of comics’ most WTF moments

Newest GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 Trailer Reveals Star-Lord’s Father

It looks like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has something for everyone. Swarms of spaceships appearing from nowhere. Star-Lord’s excellent comedic timing. Guns unfeasibly huge enough to give Rob Liefeld weapons envy. The first trailer in my recollection to ever use the word “douchebags.” Plus tentacle monsters, Baby Groot enjoying what look like M&Ms, and much more.

Some of this footage was revealed at Comic-Con, and held back until now. What we see here heavily implies that Nebula, Yondu, and Mantis join the team, that the movie has a winking nod to the idea of the Guardians becoming a franchise, and that Kurt Russell as Ego reveals himself as Peter Quill’s dad in his first appearance onscreen. Also, Nebula has some good questions that illuminate the differences between friends and family, though as Thanos’ daughter, her take on that issue is probably really skewed.

Disney and Marvel Studios have also unveiled a new poster, and it is beautifully vibrant. Take a look:

How Quill can hold that pose without inducing severe back pain is beyond me, but turnabout is fair play–usually it’s the female characters having to stand in heinously back-arching poses on comic covers. But what’s with Baby Groot being on his shoulder this time? I wouldn’t want to be the one to tell him he’s making a psychotic raccoon jealous.

Are you pumped for a more awesome mix of Guardians characters? Did this trailer make you more hyped, or merely reaffirm your existing excitement? I Am Groot your response in comments below.

Images: Marvel Studios/Disney

Still, We Wonder…