Official Description of CW's "Arrow"

A while back, we showed you the first image of Stephen Amell donning the leathery green suit for his upcoming role as Oliver Queen aka the emerald archer, Green Arrow.  Now, we have a few more details of the upcoming series, and, like Smallville before it, it seems Arrow takes a few liberties with the titular hero's origin story -- but hopefully, like Smallville's early seasons, they will find a stride that will be entertaining while doing the character justice.

Here's the official description:

After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. While Oliver hides the truth about the man he’s become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was. Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his former girlfriend, Laurel Lance. As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of Arrow – a vigilante – to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory. By day, Oliver plays the role of a wealthy, carefree and careless philanderer he used to be – flanked by his devoted chauffeur/bodyguard, John Diggle – while carefully concealing the secret identity he turns to under cover of darkness. However, Laurel’s father, Detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest the vigilante operating in his city. Meanwhile, Oliver’s own mother, Moira, knows much more about the deadly shipwreck than she has let on – and is more ruthless than he could ever imagine.

With today's CW Upfronts, the network has also announced their schedule for next fall, smartly pairing Arrow with Supernatural on Wednesday nights.  I admit, I want to see this show; they have a lot of places they can go with Oliver Queen.  Not the least of which - while woefully unlikely - includes a live-action recreation of the Green Arrow and Green Lantern partnership from the 70s.

Update on May 17, 2012 at 2:50 PM by Dwight Tejano

Want more Arrow? The CW has now posted a first look at the upcoming series.  Watch it here:

Book Review: "Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion"

Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion by PopMatters.
Publisher: Titan Books. Available now.
Purchase here: Paperback | Kindle.

Joss Whedon is a genius. There. I said it. I bet you're super surprised. And, finally, ol' J-Dub is getting some long overdue praise this year after a certain critically-acclaimed and billion-dollar superhero movie hit the big screen earlier this month (which, we loved and then later gushed over.)

But the Whedonverse extends far beyond the reaches of Marvel Studios. His television series, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, has had a cultural influence that far outlast the life of the series themselves. And those are only two examples.

Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion collects a series of essays and cultural studies that explore all of Whedon's most famous works, analyzing them with a critical eye befitting the maturity and significance that those works reflect.

While not a book for the Whedon-uninitiated, The Complete Companion is a must-buy for all of Whedon's most ardent fans. The book even touches upon (albeit lightly) Whedon's most recent successes, The Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers. (Although because this book was finalized and sent to publish prior to the release of those movies, these essays are more informational than analytical.)

The tome clocks in at nearly 500 pages, spread over 50 essays that dissect Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and Whedon's other significant projects. Buffy gets the majority of the book's focus, although Angel, Firefly, and Serenity get a sufficient examination. The Dr. Horrible section is, unfortunately, quite sparse, but the three essays that take a look at Billy's aspirations to the Evil League of Evil are excellent.

Having read a number of pop culture collections like this, I've noticed a common problem: they often can't find the happy medium between academic textbook and blog post. Thankfully, the majority of The Complete Companion finds that excellent place where it reads both entertainingly and intellectually. This would find a place as a textbook in some collegiate-level "Whedon Studies" course, while at the same time being a compelling read. (By the way, somebody tell me what college offers said course.) That's key - I've seen some works that are written as if you've never heard of subtext before, and I've seen some that are so clinically dry they have sucked all of the enjoyment from a source material. The Complete Companion, however, is a good, entertaining read that doesn't insult your intelligence.

If I do have one complaint, though, it's with the copyediting. There are some blatant mistakes that should never have made it to print. Joss's sister-in-law and frequent collaborator is "Maurissa," not "Melissa." Peter Parker's first girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, does not have an "e" in her last name. And most glaringly: "Joss Shedon"? Really?! If there's one name that should never be misspelled, it should be the name of the guy you're writing the book about. These incidents are certainly not on every page, but they were noticed.

Ultimately, Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion is an enjoyable experience that will, no doubt, further cement your love for all things Joss. It's highly recommended for all Whedonites - what better way to learn something than to analyze it with reference to something you already love?

Big Bang Theory Finale Recap - The Countdown Reflection

Well, my friends, it's that time again - time to bid a fond summer farewell to our favorite shows.  I'm definitely going to miss the Big Bang Theory every week, as I find it the smartest and best comedy out there right now.  These are my people!  And my people sure were hilarious and touching in "The Countdown Reflection," as Howard sat strapped into a Soyuz Rocket and reflected on the last few days before takeoff.  The gang was gathered at Sheldon and Leonard's apartment, preparing to watch Howard blast off on NASA TV. Raj and Bernadette were especially nervous - Raj had been stress eating and was wearing his fat pants. Howard, aka "Fruit Loops," was busy looking terrified as he took flack from his fellow astronauts (I like how they asked about "Mrs. Fruit Loops") and allowed his life to flash before his eyes. Thus, we jumped back a few days to see the events leading up to the launch.

Back in Howard's room, he presented Bernadette with a necklace shaped like a star, which he was then going to take into space - so she could have a star from space!  Coolest present ever, Howard. I love you. You really are a changed man! This made Bernadette realize she wanted to be married to Howard before he blasted off for the ISS, and the two decided to head down to city hall and do the justice of the peace thing. They assembled the gang and told them of their plans, with Sheldon and Amy being the only ones to initially refuse - Amy because she wanted to walk down the aisle in her maid of honor dress, and Sheldon because he felt he'd be bored. Leonard gave Sheldon the death stare and told him it would be fun (unlike The Green Lantern movie, apparently there was no love lost there), and Bernadette promised Amy she could wear her dress - which she did, with her tiara!  I love her tiara just as much as she does!

Sadly, there was a line at city hall and the clerk cut them off, not believing Howard that he was going up in the rocket in two days' time. Raj came up with a pretty awesome solution - the Google Earth satellite was going to be flying over Pasadena, and their wedding could be photographed from space! Any of them could be ordained online and perform the ceremony. Howard and Bernadette loved this idea, and agreed to have the wedding on the roof of the guys' building.

Hit the jump for the full recap of Big Bang Theory's season finale!

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Big Bang Theory Recap - The Launch Acceleration

Only one more Big Bang Theory episode this season, geek lovers!  I confess that I am not looking forward to the long summer between episodes of my favorite comedy. This week's ep, "The Launch Acceleration" gave me little bits of everything I love about the Big Bang, and got me excited for next week's finale while making me wish we had more time with the gang (these episodes feel so brief lately!).

When "The Launch Acceleration" opened, Howard was taking a phone call from NASA telling him that his launch had been scrubbed. As someone who has tried three times to see a shuttle launch and failed due to technical delays, I thought this was very realistic.  Howard make sad noises to the astronaut over the phone, but was secretly overjoyed at the prospect of not dying in space.  Shuttle missions are fraught with peril, and he was quite right to be worried. Plus, this gave him the perfect opportunity to still have astronaut bragging rights over the guys with no scary accelerated descents through the Earth's fiery atmosphere.

We were treated to the guys' tux rental shopping, where Sheldon (clad in full, red thermal underwear) lectured them on the sweaty germs present in tux rentals. Despite his silly getup underneath, Sheldon definitely did cut an impressive figure in his tux ("like the Flash 'bout to get married!"). Jim Parsons is an excellent wearer of clothing, too bad he is rarely out of his double-shirt ensemble. 

Amy Farrah Fowler certainly doesn't seem to mind Sheldon's fashion choices, as she sought to accelerate their relationship to the next level by associating herself with Sheldon's geekiest interests and favorite foods. She invited him over to her apartment for their once-monthly date, a dinner of Strawberry Quik and spaghetti with little hot dogs in it, with the Mario theme chirping merrily in the background. This delighted Sheldon, prompting him to declare – "we should do this more often!" Already points scored for Amy, as Sheldon is not one to suggest altering the parameters of his agreements.

The dinner, plus arranging for him to be a conductor for a day, was cause for Amy's occupation of his thoughts more and more often (character growth! I see it!), even while he was working and playing multidimensional Star Trek chess with Leonard.  Sheldon and Leonard had quite the sweet guy talk about their respective women.  Leonard had proposed to Penny during sex, their first time in the sack since their new relationship beta test. She was freaked out and yelled at him, but they were able to move past it – she gave him a kiss, told him no, and said they were still dating but she didn't want to discuss the proposal.  Leonard, you are a weirdo. I don't know what to do with you, and clearly neither does Penny.

Howard got a phone call that NASA wanted to put him on an earlier mission – one leaving next Friday!  He was due to marry Bernadette on Sunday, however, and she told him that she didn't want to stand in the way of his dreams. However, he did have to tell her father, who would be out of a lot of money if the wedding was postponed. We got to meet Mr. Rostenkowski for the first time, and he told Howard that the one thing that made him respect Howard was his astronaut gig. Howard decided to go ahead with the launch, despite his fears.

We wound up the episode with Leonard discovering Sheldon lying on the couch while Amy, clad in an Original Star Trek medical uniform, scanned him. She was positively gleeful as she told Leonard they were playing doctor – Star Trek style. Sheldon professed he was in hell, but then told Amy not to stop. Love it!!

Episode rating: 9 out of 10 soft kitties. Sheldon and Amy are brilliant; Howard is still hitting it out of the park, but Leonard baffles me.

Nerd Notes: I feel Sheldon's kinship with a tiny Lego Indiana Jones; Legos rule. Amy's Star Trek costume was super cute; where can I get one like that? What's next – dressing up at Leia? Wonder Woman? Pepper Potts?  The winning formula has been discovered! Also, I'm waiting for some Avengers jokes, since the movie just came out and you KNOW the boys would have been first in line at the midnight showing.

Any guesses where Penny's tattoo of the Cookie Monster is?  What an odd choice for a tattoo.

The finale, "The Countdown Reflection," approaches far too soon!

Xbox 360 Now Available for $99 (with a contract)

And it's official, folks!  As we reported earlier, the Xbox 360 is now available to take home for $99 with a two-year agreement.  Also as expected, an early termination fee ($250) applies if you break your contract prior to its maturation date, although, thankfully, that fee attenuates as the contract ages, starting at month 4.  (Full contract terms are here.)

So, to recap, for $99 and $14.99/month for two years nets you:

• 4GB Xbox 360
• Kinect for Xbox 360
• Xbox Live Gold Subscription

This deal is available only at Microsoft stores (store locator), and, unfortunately for those wanting to get in on the deal, there aren't many of those around.  But if you can find one and if you've been holding off from getting an Xbox because it was too much of a initial payment, this may convince you to take the plunge.  Although you may want to check our earlier post which compares the overall costs after two years...

The most interesting thing about this whole deal:  is Microsoft testing the waters for a new way to lock in a consumer base?  With the Xbox 360's successor rumored to be coming out in the couple of years, this subscription model may very well be a harbinger for the way consoles are sold to us in the future.

Movie Review: 'The Avengers'

How do you make a movie that brings together seven superheroes established in previous films, appease a notoriously unforgiving fanbase, and make good on the hype and buzz of Hollywood? Ask Joss Whedon. He'll tell you.

The writer, director, and comic scribe has lived up to every ounce of hype surrounding one of the most ambitious film endeavors of our generation. Spectacular action, heartstring-tugging drama, and laugh-out-loud humor makes Marvel's The Avengers the pinnacle of comic-to-screen adaptations that can be enjoyed by comic book geeks and casual moviegoers alike. Comic fans will cheer at the faithful portrayal of Marvel's premier super-team, average Joes will connect with the human beings under the masks and armor, and Whedon fans will get a healthy dose of the quick-witted dialogue and charm that Joss Whedon has come to be known for. If you thought Tony Stark was snarky before, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Loki, brother of Thor, returns to Earth with an alien army in tow, and it's up to Earth's Mightiest Heroes to take him down. But it's not as easy as it sounds. It never is. S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, once again portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, puts the Avenger Initiative into action, recruiting the six heroes we've seen in Marvel Studios' five previous films, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Naturally, the teammates butt heads as personalities clash and secrets are exposed, but when they are hit hardest, The Avengers come together as the team they were meant to be.

The talented cast, led prominently by the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson, are pure gold on screen, in any combination. Whether it be a brilliant exchange between Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Ruffalo), a tender moment shared by Natasha Romanoff (Johansson) and Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), or hard-hitting action courtesy of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and the Hulk, Whedon gives each character their equal share of time on the screen, never shortchanging or overselling anyone. However, once again stealing the show (just as he did in Thor) is Tom Hiddleston in the role of Loki. His menacing portrayal of the Asgardian antagonist leaves you wanting more from this villain that you love to hate.

Fans and non-fans alike will say that this has been building since 2008 with the release of Iron Man, the first film from Marvel Studios. I, however, would like to think that it's been in the works since 2000 when Bryan Singer's X-Men graced the screen and paved the road for every Marvel superhero film that has come out since. There were high-flying successes (Spider-Man) and unbearable flops (Elektra), eventually leading to Marvel's decision to establish their own production studio and seize control of the properties not yet under the Fox or Sony banner. With the indescribable success of Iron Man, a character who, until then, had been seen by many as a B-grade hero, Marvel made the ambitious decision to move forward and establish multiple film franchises that would culminate in the masterwork now playing in theaters. When you think about it, that first post-credits scene between Tony Stark and Nick Fury was a huge gamble on Marvel's part. Thankfully, it has paid off...with interest.

The Avengers is truly the comic book movie we've all been waiting for. Be on the lookout for Warner Bros./DC Comics to try and play catchup with a Justice League of America movie. They'll be hard-pressed to match what Mr. Whedon has accomplished.

Charge your repulsors, sling your shield, grab your hammer, and ASSEMBLE! Marvel's The Avengers is now playing in theaters everywhere.

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Marvel Studios may have finally brought these characters to the big screen, but it was Stan Lee and Jack Kirby who first assembled them on the comic book page in 1963. When you buy your ticket to see The Avengers (if you haven't already), please consider matching your ticket price with a donation to The Hero Initiative, the comics industry not-for-profit corporation dedicated to helping comics creators in need of financial aid. Please visit www.heroinitiative.org for more information.

Game Review: Boy Loves Girl

Grubby Hands, an independent UK game developer, has released their new iOS game, Boy Loves Girl! Follow the boy though cities, towns, and forests as he chases his one true love, gathering smiles and hearts along the way.  Each level propels the boy one step closer to winning the girl, but there are many obstacles to avoid. The boy carries the moon on a string (a very cute play on the popular "I'd give you the moon!" cliché), and you must avoid clouds, thunder bolts, and sleepy cloud ZZZzzz's that can break the moon or let it get away as you chase down and collect other presents for the girl – things like gazelles, kangaroos, and other fanciful items.

Gameplay is fairly straightforward, as you swipe up and down to keep the moon safe and use it to gather smiles and achieve the goals of each level. It's fun and only occasionally frustrating, mostly brought on by the fact that if you lose the moon and 'die' you must restart each level from the beginning – there are no save points or checkpoints to go back to. Boy Loves Girl is entertaining and challenging for both casual gamers like myself and more advanced gamers like my fellow Open The Fridge writers. The graphics are very colorful and have a hand-drawn, nostalgic, and retro appeal, while the side-scrolling brought back childhood memories of original Sega and Nintendo games.

There is some good replay value here, too, through the three star challenges that it presents on each stage.  A la Jetpack Joyride, the game encourages you to perform what I'll call "stunt" moves (like grazing dangerously close to a cloud but not hitting it) to collect more smiles in a stage.  These stunt moves are also often part of certain objectives that, when completed, net you the challenge stars in each level and unlock bonus stages.

As a woman who just finished her master's thesis on feminist agency and female stereotypes in literature, I was interested to apply a feminist perspective to Boy Loves Girl and also see how my fellow (male) reviewer, the Fridgemaster himself, viewed the gender dynamic of the game.  Obviously, the notion of the male doing all the pursuing in a relationship is a little outdated, and you can start to see the girl as quite demanding after your moon breaks on the same cloud for the fourth time!  Dwight and I had a good chuckle over how the first woman to ask him for a gazelle was going to be shown the door.  On the whole, it was all in good fun, and I look forward to future releases from the very talented Grubby Hands!

Boy Loves Girl is just $0.99 at the iTunes App store.

Book Review: Plague Town

Plague Town by Dana Fredsti.
Publisher: Titan Books. Available now.
Purchase here: Paperback | Kindle.

“People are dying. Then they are waking up. Hungry.” This tag-line, used on the back cover of Dana Fredsti’s novel “Plague Town,” pretty much sums up the plot of every novel or movie about zombies ever made. If you’re a fan of those to begin with, chances are you’ll enjoy this book. It’s chock full of all the classic clichés and plot standards we’ve all come to expect from a zombie story… shambling, rotting corpses, a team of people trying to survive against all odds, and (of course) lots of headshots and guns.

Ashley Parker, a woman in her late twenties returning to college after a divorce, is ready to buckle down and earn herself a degree. But her plans (and her entire life) are thrown into chaos when a deadly flu begins spreading throughout the small college town she calls home. Those who die from the flu rise from the dead and develop a taste for human flesh. But Ashley is a special case… she’s one of a few select individuals who are not only immune to the zombie disease, but are granted super-human powers by it as well. She must now bond with her fellow “Wild Cards” and learn how to fight, shoot and survive in a college town which is now home to a massive swarm of hungry, shambling corpses.

If you’re thinking that this sounds a little clichéd, you’re completely right. However, Fredsti does a great job of lamp-shading the clichés by dropping almost constant pop-culture references, both in dialogue and in the main character’s thoughts. While waiting for an approaching zombie swarm, Ashley thinks that the fog looks like something straight out of a movie like “Dawn of the Dead.” However, you can only hang so many lamp-shades before it starts to feel a bit tedious. I certainly didn’t count them, but there seemed to be at least one pop culture reference every five pages or so. The references to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Army of Darkness (on which, interestingly, the author actually worked), Twilight, Aliens, the SyFy Channel and any number of others are dropped with such annoying frequency that I started to dread them more than the rot-infested zombies. It felt almost as if the author fancied herself as Gretel, dropping pop-culture bread crumbs along the path and hoping that the reader would gobble them up and continue following her to the conclusion of the story. I also have to worry about how well this book will age due to all these references. Buffy the Vampire Slayer has a dedicated fan following now, but in ten or twenty years will anyone remember who she is, save for a small handful of Joss Whedon fans? Being as well-steeped in nerd culture as I am, I understood the vast majority of the references, but some fell flat even for me.

Hit the jump for the full review of Dana Fredsti's "Plague Town"!

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An Xbox on Contract? Microsoft Reportedly Selling $99 Xbox with a Two-Year Agreement

According to the tech news site The Verge, Microsoft is planning on getting into a game normally reserved for mobile phone carriers.

As early as next week, Microsoft stores in the US will reportedly offer a 4GB Xbox with Kinect for a mere $99 with a two-year agreement.  The contract will require a monthly payment of $15, but will include a Xbox Live Gold subscription and console warranty for the duration of the agreement.  An early termination fee, naturally, will apply if you break the contract prior to its maturation date.

Comparatively speaking, it's not a terrible deal.  The 4GB Xbox with Kinect bundle runs at an MSRP of $299.99, while an XBL Gold subscription costs $60/year.  Combined, that will run you $420, while the 2 year subscription at $15/month will cost $460.  Sure, it's a little more expensive, but the initial costs are mitigated.  (The differential gap becomes a little larger, though, when you figure that you can occasionally get your hands on the Xbox bundle with $50 gift card from some retailers and on $35 XBL Gold 12-month subscription cards.  So balance your finances wisely.)

Ultimately, until it's announced, this will stay purely in the "rumor" column, but if the sources for The Verge are right, then we may be getting confirmation soon.  We'll keep our eyes on this one.

Fringe Recap: Worlds Apart

It's back to the present on Fringe once again after last week's game-changing "Letters of Transit". This week's outing, "Worlds Apart," put us right back in the middle of the David-Robert-Jones-is-bent-on-annihilation action. We started with Walter briefing both sides on his theory that DRJones is trying to collapse both worlds with some adorable slides of two hand-drawn planet Earths converging. Aw, Walter. Never change. Broyles & co were pretty skeptical when Walter said he got the idea in a 'dream' (code for LSD, I'm sure) but Walternate knew his own intelligence and back Walter up. Almost on cue, everyone's phones started going off because there was some serious earthquakage happening on both sides.

DRJones had recruited Olivia's fellow Cortexiphan kids to cause earthquakes Over Here, so much so that their doppelgangers felt them Over There. Jones' objective appeared to be convergence of the two sides, so each would vibrate in the same key (the key of E – halfway between middle C and the G at which Over There vibrates). One Cortexiphan kid, Nick Lane, sought out Lincoln Lee Over There, who remembered him even though Lane was really looking for the deceased Captain Lee. He mind-melded with Olivia in the lab so they could take his earthquake-causing counterpart into custody.  Troublemaker Lane had been fed a whole bunch of crap by Jones, about making things better and being integral to the war effort between the sides, even though there isn't a war, but Olivia finally convinced this fool to help them out. I mean, really. The fate of TWO WHOLE UNIVERSES, LIFE AS WE KNOW IT was at stake.  Jack Bauer would not have reasoned with him. There would have been thigh-shooting and kneecap-breaking.  I was slightly losing patience with the Fringe team for dawdling about, pleading and being reasonable. Bust some skulls!

Lane eventually led them to a warehouse where he said he'd met Jones, but it was clearly a ruse.  He caused the officer charged with his custody to shoot himself and escaped. Idiot. This left Fringe Division with no choice – they had to shut down the Machine and sever the connection between the two worlds, stopping the healing process Over There and introducing the possibility that Peter could disappear. With less than an hour left until the next series of universe-crunching quakes, Peter prepared to step into the machine and people said their goodbyes.  Walter, not knowing how to cope with all this, went and plopped himself down in the hallway, hugging his knees. Walternate followed, joining him on the floor.  They had an extremely touching conversation about Peter, and seemed to reach a place of closure.  John Noble was fantastic as usual, and still deserves an Emmy award.

Lincoln then said goodbye to Peter, and Olivia. He elected to stay Over There with Fauxlivia, who looked pretty pleased. The Astrids gave each other a sad little wave and the clock counted down. Our team from Over There disappeared – and Peter stayed where he was. As Walter said, "I think I shall miss them, more than I imagined." Me too, Walter!  I will miss Fauxlivia the most, because she's a cool chick, and Lincoln, with his big sad eyes. Hopefully we haven't seen the last of them.

My thoughts: Solid episode, lots of set-up for the two-part finale. Sad and emotionally resonant for sure.  At least we know that there isn't a horde of evildoers out there – Jones has actually been feeding people/Cortexiphan subjects the idea that there's a war on, and we need to save our side and let Over There collapse, even though he's actually merging the two. It was a more character-focused hour, especially for Walter, and I appreciated that a great deal.

Glyph Code: ALIVE. William Bell, from the looks of the preview. Excellent!

Episode Rating: 7 out of 10 Red Vines. They lose points for the lack of skull-busting and use of the obvious – I knew Jones wasn't in that warehouse before they pulled up.

Part one of the two part finale is next!  It's cruel they are making us wait a week in between episodes. A two-hour event would have been more exciting.  But I will not complain, since we are getting a whole fifth season!  YAY! Words cannot express the joy!