Friends, I hope
you had a good weekend. On Saturday, 25 July 2009, Janice and I went for a
brief hike in the Blue
Hills Reservation south of Boston. We were glad to finally enjoy some
proper summer weather. It got muggy yesterday, but we have yet to set up our
air conditioner in our living room window.
I also picked up
my comic book subscriptions,
several DVDs of recent movies, and
some video
games, all of which I'll try to review in the coming weeks. We ate out at British Brewing Company and Acapulco's.
I also spent
much of the past several days watching G4's OK coverage
of the San Diego Comic-Con (more about
that also to come) and BBC America's Torchwood: Children of
Earth and Doctor Who: Planet of
the Dead. Although it's too bad that the latest seasons/series of both
British science fiction shows have been truncated, it's hard to argue with the
quality of the darkly dramatic Torchwood
and more family-friendly Doctor Who.
The
sociopolitical commentary in Children of Earth,
in which aliens try to extort millions of children from governments led by the
U.K., was sharper than usual for that Doctor
Who spin-off. Most of the time, it didn't come off as preachy, thanks to a good script
and a strong cast led by John Barrowman as "Capt. Jack Harkness" and
Eve Myles as "Gwen Cooper."
After the six-hour
Children of Earth miniseries (including
"Into the Hub" background notes), Planet of the
Dead was a light dessert, despite its ominous title. It's the beginning of the end
for David Tennant as Doctor Who, but even without another movie, I'm optimistic about
newcomer Matt
Smith as the long-lived time traveler.
This week, in addition to work, I expect to be
busy with the usual games.
The Pathfinder: "Holy Steel"
teleconferencing team met virtually this past Saturday night, as our heroes
entered the pyramid of Unas. Prospective role-player Rich D. plans to join the D&D4e "Vanished
Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" adventuring party at tonight's
fantasy session (Monday, 27 July 2009). I've been running both groups weekly
for a few months now, so although they're enjoyable, I look forward to an occasional
break from being host and Game Master.
Gene's Worlds 