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Show Notes:

Break Song: “Future” by Cut Copy

Vision Machine, a free comic by Greg Pak and R.B. Silva

Douglas Rushkoff’s “Are Jobs Obsolete?” op-ed on CNN

Much easier.

Switch on your PC and join the New York Geeks as they try to pin down the when, how, and why of magical computers, as depicted in our favorite movies and television shows.

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Show Notes:

Break Song: “Home Computer” by Kraftwerk

Dr. Sbaitso, from Creative Labs on X-Entertainment
Infinity Blade
Kotaku article about Infinity Blade
It’s a UNIX System, I know this.
Gawker Media Password Leak
Thor Trailer
1958 “Tennis for Two” video game
Johnny Mnemonic internet
Hollywood Computing article on Rotten Tomatoes

Tron has been aging on a disconnected hard drive for the last 28 years. A Western Digital My Book, from the looks of it.

The first Tron has inspired countless (every?) animator alive today. And if you need to check the changes in the world from the ’80s, remember the oft-quoted fact that Tron was not qualified for special FX awards because “using computers was cheating.” A while ago I re-watched Tron on my Mac laptop, via a possibly torrented movie file from a friend. In the ’80s, computers looked like this:

an '80s computer

The whole idea of Tron was inspired by this machine, and the possibilities that came with it. Enter static flickers, black lights, spinning disks (direct technical influence) and motorcycles. Would it have been too much to ask for a new Tron that was equally influenced by today’s world of Apple, Sony, Facebook, and Google? Do we not have an equally inspiring technical society today, that looks good even in plaid and thick-rimmed glasses?

The story of Tron Legacy is clearly meant to capitalize on the current generation of artists who were so inspired by the first film. (Capitalism: Disney’s rewriting the past so that every boy had Tron action figures and posters in their bedroom.) Since the target audience is kids who grew up, a father-son story works perfectly. A confused wayward child seeking adulthood/closure travels to a fantasy realm to find the answer to life’s persistent questions. This never fails to introduce a fantasy world but neither is it very original.

SPOILER ALERT
Traveling to Tron myself, I expected a hell of a lot more. But as Joseph Kosinski explains, Tron has been running on Jeff Bridges desk since he mysteriously disappeared, and it had no internet connection. My heart died a little when Jeff Bridges seriously asks: “What’s wi-fi? Oh, I invented that in 1985.” Really? Because it should have been part of your world and made it more interesting. Mr. Kosinski failed to distinguish Tron Legacy from any of the countless other sci-fi movies in this post-Matrix world. (Constantine, Matrix 2, A Scanner Darkly, and Titan AE come to mind.)

My personal problem with the film concerns the party scene. The people were supposed to be avatars of computer programs, and I really expected a variety of characters surpassing the diversity of Mos Eisley’s cantina. But instead, I got a stilted world where every girl has the same shiny black bowl haircut, and wore the silver astronaut dresses. Strangely, Daft Punk fit perfectly into this scene, having kept their style the same for years from the original Tron. They kept to their tiny DJ box, smartly avoiding everyone.

Tron has a highly specific artistic style that was reinterpreted by a first time architect/film director, who hired fashion designers, car designers, and other architects to work for the first time in film design. They did a beautiful job modernizing all of Tron’s concepts: the game arena is ingenious, and Jeff’s house is a perfect blend of 2001-Space-Odessey and iPod sensibility. And the action sequences are pretty exhilarating… arcade games inspired the 2D blocking of the light cycles so I suppose the Xbox inspired the 3D blocking of the light-jet-thingies.

I interpret this sudden rush of good-feeling towards Tron Legacy as Christmas cheer, but maybe it means that the movie is not all bad, and that many people will enjoy it anyway. If you needed one reason to watch: go for the young CGI Jeff Bridges. (Mr Kosinski tried to say something about how there are special relationships with Jeff Bridges and his real son versus his digital son, but I have no idea what he’s talking about.)

If you’re a LOST fan, as I am, you’re probably kind of curious as to where this is all going. This weekend is the series finale of the show, and to celebrate, The Paley Center for Media is holding a little get-together:

“The Paley Center for Media and New York Comic Con are going to help EASE YOUR PAIN with a fun-filled celebration featuring a slew of events—a DHARMA aptitude test (aka trivia contest), a custom-made Lost game, prizes, giveaways, a panel discussion, and a special screening of a pop-up version of the program that got it all started: the pilot episode.”

The Last Lost Weekend: A Celebration | The Paley Center for Media

In honor of Star Wars Day, here’s a sweet LEGO animated recap of the original trilogy.

YouTube – The Fastest and Funniest LEGO Star Wars story ever told.

Direct Link: “V” Promo on Youtube

aw poop.

Grab your favorite beverage and snack. Find that sweet spot on the couch and get comfortable, we’re beaming into Sci-Fi TV! From Trek to Farscape and beyond, we’re going to discuss what we love and hate about what some of us consider the best genre on TV!

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Our contest from episode 17: Quackintosh still stands. An explanation for those who do not know:

We  have a new segment called “Where’s Nelson?!?” where you listen to an audio clip (in episode) of me describing a location that you have to guess. You can e-mail us at thegeeks@nygeekcast.com with the answer and if you guess the location correctly you’ll get a cool prize.

Show Notes:

• Intro Song: Main Title of Star Trek The Motion Picture by Jerry Goldsmith
• Break Song: Unrealized Reality by TechScaper. Vocal Samples in the music from Farscape.
• Outro Song: Main Title of Star Gate SG-1
• Battlestar Galatica at the U.N.
• Syfy Sucks
• The Real meaning of SyFy (Penny Arcade)
• Outpost Gallifrey
• Farscape

Thoughts? Questions? Please leave a comment on this post. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you!