Holy San Diego Comic-Con info dump, Batman! With so much news about Marvel and DC’s upcoming movie and TV projects, it’s almost hard to forget that this weekend also saw the Season 5 Finale of Doctor Who on BBC America, some great Dragon Age announcement, and more!

Direct Link: Powetcast 38: King of the SDCC Castle

Audio Netcast Details
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(What was your favorite SDCC news? Excited for Dragon Age II? Leave your thoughts below!)

Show notes after the jump!

Panel

• Sean “Faceplant” Corse
• Crazy “Ghost in the SDCC Machine” Jaco
• aDam “Not in the Avengers movie” Gardner

News

• Legend of Korra to succeed The Last Airbender
• Dragon Age II, bitches!
• Futurama premiere gives Comedy Central best Thursday night EVER
• Wonder Woman gets a new outfit
• Which is quite a bit like designs from Joss Whedon’s defunct Wonder Woman movie
• Pause the podcast here: Watch the DCUO Trailer (but don’t forget to come back!)
• Jeph Loeb head of Marvel production
• Blizzard tries to enforce, then backs off, RealIDs ()
• Scale Gundam RX-78-2 (Will be up until March 11th)
• Phil Plait’s TV project revealed to be “Bad Universe” show for Discovery
• SDCC 2010 News (Complete Powet.TV Digest)
• Smallville Season 10 Teaser
• TRU Exclusive Ghostbusters 4-pack
• Battle Beasts
• MOTU Roboto and Battle Ram
• Spiderman 2099 in Spiderman Shattered Dimensions and new action figure
• Stan Lee on the Throne of Asgard
• Sucker Punch could suck but will probably make my penis dance

Cool Beans

TV

• Doctor Who Series 5 Finale

Games

• Dragon Age: Origins DLC

Comics

• Superman #701

Pimpin’

• New Videos Every Wednesday (or your money back)
• KEEP PLAYING: Rewind – Chiller (two weeks ago) Sindra
• PowetToys: Animated Blackout (last week) Crazy
• Powet Robots (this week) aDam
• New YouTube Channel: POWETdotTV
• C is for Crossvers, D is for Daria
• E is for …?, F is for …?
• aDam Guest Stars on Evil Avatar’s Shotgun Podcast

But do you believe in something beautiful?
Then get up and be it!

Direct Link: Powetcast 37: The Brutalist

Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes

Panel

● Zac "Canada Dry" Shipley

● Logan Michael “I’m 37?!?” Roop

● Crazy “Rock Lords: War for Quartex” Jaco

● “Can’t Chain her Super-Jumps” Sindra

News

● ROLL OUT! Optimus Prime Pulls His Trailer Into Transformers 3! – http://powet.tv/powetblog/2010/07/10/roll-out-optimus-prime-pulls-his-trailer-into-transformers-3/

● Edward Norton Out of Avengers, Marvel will cast Unknown as the 3rd Bruce Banner in 10 years. http://www.latinoreview.com/news/me-marvel-no-want-edward-norton-as-hulk-me-want-unknown-actor-10454

● Kevin Bacon in talks to play X-Men villain, but which one? – http://io9.com/5583578/kevin-bacon-in-talks-to-play-x+men-villain-but-which-one

● Activision/Infinity Ward lawsuit gets even muddier. http://kotaku.com/5583710/lawsuit-activision-created-modern-warfare-police-state

● MattyCollector Day July 15th

○ DCUC Wave 12

● Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)

● Blue Devil

● Cheetah (modern)

● Cheetah (classic)

● Cyclotron (with Super Powers base and removable face plate)

● Negative Man (standard version)

● Superboy

● Wonder Girl

○ MOTUC Count Marzo

● Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Movie Wrapped and Edited http://twitter.com/RADIOMARU

● MattyCollector to offer SDCC pre-sales http://www.mattycollector.com/store/matty/ContentTheme/pbPage.News

● free boners

Cool Beans

Movies

● A-Team (Logan)

TV

● Last Comic Standing

● Green Room w/ Paul Provenza

Games

● Transformers WFC (Logan) I know it’s been talked about, but I just started it so I wanted to mention it. Me too! (Crazy)

● New Xbox

Comics

● All Hail Megatron (Crazy)

Toys

Pimpin'

● New Videos Every Wednesday (or your money back)

● TF HALL OF FAME

■ Pax East: Powet.TV Draws in Fangamer (last week)

■ Keep Playing: Rewind (this week)

○

● Powet Alphabet

○ A is for Apple II, B is for Bleach

■ C is for…?, D is for…?

Now, the exciting conclusion to Powetcast 36: War For Botcon!

Direct Link: Powetcast 36.5: An E3 And A Dollar Short

Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes

Watch out for the conclusion of the Powetcast coming Thursday July 1!

Direct Link: Powetcast 35: War For Botcon

Audio Netcast Details
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Panel
* Zac Shipley
* aDam “It’s a fez. I wear a fez now.” Gardner
* Crazy “Rightfully Huge” Jaco
* “Still waiting for a Lords of Shadow Release Date” Sindra

News
* Too little, too late: Debbie Gibson and Tiffany to star in shitty SyFy original movie
* Vatican endorses “The Blues Brothers”
* Superman/Batman Apocalypse the next WB animated movie

Botcon roundup!

• Transformers Prime – Rightfully Huge

Op Prime, Arcee (motorcycle), bulkhead, ratchet, bumblebee, cliffjumper (unique, not BB repaint)
Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave
Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, and Sue Blu doing voice directing

• Bob Budiansky panel
• Marketing panel

Crazy asked a question!

• Club Panel

This episode we preview E3, review Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, predict the Doctor Who finale, and thank Rue McClanahan for being a friend.

Direct Link: Powetcast 35: Chesty Jake

Audio Netcast Details
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(What have you liked from E3 so far? Are you going to get a 3DS. Did you (or anyone) even SEE the Sony presser? Leave your comments below!)

Show notes after the jump!

Panel

• Sean “Angry Famicom Dojo Nerd” Corse
• Zac “Kinect” Shipley
• aDam “joke” Gardner
• Crazy “Beat LA” Jaco

News

• RIP Rue McClanahan


• The Force is Strongwith Betty White
  


• Cleveland Show Season 3??
• SIR Patrick Stewart
• Heroes might get a miniseries to wrap up (WHY???)
• Blue Beetle the TV series?
• Why is Disney making a Dreamworks movie?Tangled
• Marvel Movie Madness!
  
  
  
  • Captain America’s outfit revealed
  • Full version of Thor outfit (plus: Keep it in your pants, Natalie Portman!)
  
  
  
  
• Rock Band 3


• Game Play video
• Mad Catz reveals peripheral pricing




• E3
• Natal is officially KINECT
• Oh, and the new Xbox 360
• UPDATES:
• Confirmed: Hard drive IS removable (but apparently still proprietary), and works with transfer cable
• 5 USB ports :O
• ALREADY SHIPPING
• Criterion – Need for Speed
• Devil’s Third


• Wizard World Philly – Toyfare Hall of Fame – Mattel MOTU News

Cool Beans

Movies

• Prince of Persia
• Sherlock Holmes

TV

• Doctor Who

Games

• War For Cybertron
• Split Second
• Vindication via Penny-Arcade
• Check out our PAX East 2010 preview

Pimpin’

• New Videos Every Wednesday (or your money back)


• Famicom Dojo: Sega Power Base Converter (last week)
• PAX East 2010 Clips (this week) new YouTube Channel: POWETdotTV
• Silent Running (next week)




• Powet Alphabet


• W is for The Wire, X is for Xbox
• Y is for …?, Z is for …?




• Cool Beans: LOST Series Finale
• Powet Game Night
• Retro Gamer Magazine #75

Direct Link: Cool Beans: LOST Series Finale Edition

Audio Netcast Details
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See also:
Prime Cuts 01 – LOST Season 5 Podcast
Lost Season 5 Dharma Initiative Orientation Kit Review Video

Music credits:
U2 – “Until The End Of The World”
Weezer – “Island In The Sun”
Oasis – “Rock ‘N’ Roll Star”
Prince and The Revolution – “Let’s Go Crazy”

King Koopa is Dead; Long Live the King. We talk about Season and Series finales, comics made into movies, games made into movies, comics made into games (and back into comics). Waiting for our LOST thoughts! They’re coming in a special Cool Beans! Listen on, dear Poweteers.

Direct Link: Powetcast 34: Long Live President Koopa

Audio Netcast Details
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(Did you even SEE the Super Mario Bros. Movie. Mario Mario and Luigi Mario? What’s THAT all about? Leave your thoughts below!)

Show notes after the jump!

Panel

• Sean “Orange Lantern” Corse


• Zac “Magnus” Shipley


• Crazy “8 One Character Victories” Jaco


• aDam “Forgot to think of a funny name” Gardner

News

• LOST complete series DVD/Blu-ray to contain 12 minutes of additional footage


• Celebrity Deaths




• Gary Coleman


• Art Linkletter


• Dennis Hopper




• New Sonic Game?


• Botcon Registration goes online


• Penny Arcade Episodes 3 & 4 will be stories, not video games
  (NOT a fanfic! Hahaha) Why? No idea.


• Mass Effect is coming to the big screen


• Green Lantern plot synopsis revealed

Cool Beans

Movies

• Daybreakers


• Uwe Boll’s Far Cry




• The movie is called “Far Cry” based on the game, by acclaimed filmmaker Uwe Boll

TV

• V


• Flashforward

Games

• Marvel vs Capcom 2 tu4ar.com – can track stats


• Red Dead Redemption

Comics

• Annhilation Conquest volume 1

Toys

• RotF Ejector


• Skeletor/Luthor/Aquaman/Black Manta

Pimpin’

• New Videos Every Wednesday (or your money back)




• KEEP PLAYING: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (two weeks ago)


• KEEP PLAYING: Rewind – Sonic Spinball(last week)


• PowetToys (this week)


• Famicom Dojo (next week)




• Powet Alphabet




• U is for User-Generated Content, V is for Video Game Movies (What timing!)


• W is for …?, X is for …?




• @PowetToys on Twitter


• POWET GAME NIGHT: CASTLE CRASHERS ON XBOX LIVE

It’s sweeps month! So many cancellations already announced: FlashForward, Law & Order, Scrubs, HEROES. But many shows also picked up! V, The Cape, and Conan O’Brien’s new TBS show! Plus, Iron Man 2 and Halo: Reach “Pre-Season 1″ in Cool Beans

Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 33: No More Heroes

Audio Netcast Details
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(Were you still watching Heroes? WHY? Will you miss it? What about the majority of ABC’s 2009 lineup getting canned? Leave your thoughts below!)

Show notes after the jump!

Panel

• Sean “Warrant Officer, Grade 2″ Corse
  
• Zac “M*A*S*H” Shipley
  
• aDam “In 3D” Gardner

News

• LOST finale extended by half an hour, will (probably) bump the evening news
• The Dreaded Sweeps! (Doesn’t that sound like Scourge and a couple of his cronies determine the fate of Television?)
• Heroes is (FINALLY) canceled! Maybe…
• NBC Also axes Law & Order (Replaced with Law & Order: LA) just shy of record-breaking 21st season
• NBC Fall Schedule




• ABC’s battle to replace LOST:
• Despite abysmal ratings, wodden acting, and poor writing, Flashforward might get another season
• Or that’s how it looked until V got a 14% ratings bump and was renewed
• Now, FlashForward’s fate is sealed
• Also canceled: Scrubs, Better off Ted
  




• Renewed: Chuck, Community, The Office (possibly final season), SMALLVILLE, THE CLEVELAND SHOW
• Fox Developing Napoleon Dynamite animated series (might replace American Dad)




• Conan O’Brien appearing on TBS @ 11pm starting in November
• Pushes back George Lopez an hour
• Kevin Eubanks announced he’d be leaving “Tonight” the same day (but does anyone care?)
• CONACO produced “Outlaw” starring Jimmy Smits is picked up on NBC.




• Saban Buys Back Power Rangers
• Green Lantern:
• Hal Jordan’s suit will be entirely CG
• Peter Sarsgaard’s Hector Hammond looks like Rocky Dennis (why not just hire Eric Stoltz?)
  




• DC sues Siegel’s Attorney (how meta!)
• Bungie signs a ten-year deal with… ACTIVISION (WHY???)

Cool Beans

Movies

• Iron Man 2 (and how anyone could possibly hate on it)

TV

• Community is now the best show on TV

Games

• Halo: Reach “Pre-Season 1″ ending May 19th
• Check out your Reach stats! http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Reach/CareerStats.aspx?player=[GAMERTAG]




• Portal: Free on Steam!

Conventions

• No Brand Con 2010 – EFFING SWAT TEAM!! Full riot gear, weapons drawn.

Pimpin’

• New Videos Every Wednesday (or your money back)


• KEEP PLAYING: Rewind – House of the Dead (two weeks ago)
• Famicom Dojo Season 2: What Nintendon’t (FINALLY!) (last week)
• KEEP PLAYING: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (this week)
• PowetToys (next week)




• Powet Alphabet
• R is for Resident Evil, S is for Sixteen Bit, T is for Three D
• U is for …?, V is for …?



• RIP Ronnie James Dio, 1942-2010
  

Join Zac, Zero, aDam, and Sean as we reflect on the drama, joy, and pain of Halo’s story and online multiplayer. Jetpack optional.

Direct Link: Cool Beans: Halo Reach & Retrospective

Audio Netcast Details
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Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 32.5: Anywhoozle

Audio Netcast Details
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Panel
Zac Shipley
aDam “Dangerous Boy” Gardner
Crazy “Culverized” Jaco
“Not Appearing in this ‘Cast” Sindra

Keep an eye out later this week for an explosive supplemental with all the material too hot for the regular show!

Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 32: Ball & Chain

Audio Netcast Details
Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes

Show notes coming soon!

Panel
Zac Shipley
aDam “Dangerous Boy” Gardner
Crazy “Culverized” Jaco
“Not Appearing in this ‘Cast” Sindra

News
GLAAD award-winning Batwoman picked up for ongoing series
Disney Doesn’t Allow Cosplay
PS3 3D games will need frame rate or resolution reductions to work properly,Wipeout to go from 1080p 60hz to 720p 60hz, MotorStorm was 720p 30hz and needs hardware upscaling and removing some effects to get it to run in 3D
Marvel expanding movie universe, adding low budget flicks for minor characters
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is 4realz
Ridley Scott to make 2 new Alien prequel films
Mattel Announces SDCC exclusives (Orko w/ Prince Adam, DCIH Justice League w/ Starro, DCUC Plastic Man)

Cool Beans

Games
Pokemon HeartGold Version
and Pokemon SoulSilver Version
(aDam/B-Rad)
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
(B-Rad)
Castle Crashers Achievements (B-Rad)

Movies
You Don’t Know Jack (zac)

TV
V (Zac/aDam)

Promotional
New Videos Every Wednesday (or your money back)
? (Turbaman / Ebert)
Famicom Dojo Season 2: Episode 1 (No, really!!) (this week)

Powet Alphabet
P is for Powers Of Grayskull
Q is for Quantum Leap
(R is for ?, S is for ?)

Back into the swing of things after PAX with news… and Cool Beans? Find out what you’ve been missing on LOST, what you can expect in Doctor Who, and just what the heck a Pokewalker is for, anyway.

Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 31: Pokewalker, Monster Ranger

Audio Netcast Details
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(Did you go to Anime Boston or Boston Comic Con? Enjoying the direct of LOST or Doctor Who this year? Do you have a Pokewalker? Leave a shout out below!)

Show notes after the jump!

Panel

• Sean “Ball and Chain” Corse


• aDam “But that’s secret” Gardner


• Crazy “I Met Jim Lee” Jaco

News

• Microsoft adds USB device storage functionality (16 GB max)




• (120 GB HDD drops to $99 because of new 240 GB @ $149)


• Nintendo 3DS – Virtual Boy 2.0? Pure hype? Too soon?




• iPhone OS games up in market share(only took about 5% from Nintendo’s 75%, but took 9% from PSP’s 20%!)


• 4cr has a design contest
  


• Thomas Dekker still thinks TSCC direct-to-dvd is happening




• Actual quote: “We might be doing a dvd movie but that’s a secret.”


• Quote on io9 and everywhere: “Yes, but it’s a secret.”


• MattyCollector Day is the 19th. Swift Wind confirmed. White or Pink?


• New Pokemon Black and White announced
  




• More info to come April 15th


• Receive the Yellow Forest on your Pokewalker

Cool Beans
Games

• Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver: The Pokewalker

Movies

• Blindness

• Doctor Who


• LOST

• Anime Boston
  


• Boston Comic Con

Pimpin’

• New Videos Every Wednesday (or your money back)
  




• Powet Toys Collectors Edition – Flocking (last week)


• PAX East 2010 Special (this week)
  


• Powet Toys…? (next week)




• Powet Alphabet




• (N is for Ninja, O is for Oldman, Gary)


• (P is for ?, Q is for ?)




• Powet Wedding 3


• Do your taxes!

We cover all three days of the first-ever PAX East in Boston, MA!

Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 30: PAX East 2010

Audio Netcast Details
Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes

(Did you attend the convention? Read lots of articles? What did you think? Leave a comment below!)

Show notes after the jump!

Powet Panel

• Sean “Irish Car Bomb” Corse
• Zac “Ricardus” Shipley
• aDam “Splicer” Gardner

Roundtable

• PAX East 2010 Coverage (so far)
• PAX: Sindra gets game over in Castlevania: Bloodlines
• Powet.TV at PAX East (2010)
• PAX East 2010: Playing “Split Second” (Disney Interactive)
• PAX East 2010: Kotaku’s Cannon Fodder
• We’re Going to PAX East (Eventually)
• PAX East 2010: Friday Report
• PAX East 2010: Saturday Report

Powet Pimpin’

• One Video Per Week (Or Your Money Back)!
• KEEP PLAYIN’: Borderlands (two weeks ago)
• Famicom Denshimail: Stacks (one week ago)
• (this week)
• PowetToys Collectors Edition – Flocking (next week)
• Powet Alphabet
• L is for Laputa, M is for Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers
• N is for …?, O is for …?

Playstation Moves, Mac gets Steamed, Superman flies again, and Activision does what Atari used to do.

Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 29: Infinity Wardfare

Audio Netcast Details
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(What do you think about the current Activision dustup? Is anyone in the right? Leave a comment below!)

Show notes after the jump!

Panel

• Sean “No. 1 JMS Fan” Corse


• Zac “Big lob” Shipley


• aDam “vs. Capcom” Gardner


• Crazy “DLC Not Available” Jaco
  

News

• RIP Corey Haim




• Corey Haim @ IMDB


• Peter Graves @ IMDB


• Tron: Legacy Trailer


• GDC 2010: PS3 motion controller officially dubbed “PlayStation Move”, Sony shows off Not-Wii-Sports (Sports Champions), SOCOM, & more.




• Ars’ Impressions More Impressions with SOCOM 4




• Smallville confirmed for a TENTH SEASON. WHY???


• Nolan confirms Superman, Batman 3 might be his last
  (”Man of Steel” title and Brainiac as villains are just rumors, no word on director)


• JMS to take over writing duties for Superman (#700), Wonder Woman (#600)


• Pikachu Coloured Pichu for Pokemon Pearl/Diamond/Platinum available now


• MattyCollector suggests paying shipping multiple times


• Steam comes to Mac, Valve support for PS3 still nonexistent! (also Portal 2 confirmed)




• “We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360.”




• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen DLC Debacle (link to front page article)




• Content no longer available on XBox Live


• Still available on the PlayStation Store for now

Roundtable

• In the digital age, how much do “old media” publishers matter?




• Activision admitted that they made a mistake not buying Harmonix


• …but didn’t seem to learn their lesson! Infinity Ward debacle:




• Zampella and West from Infinity Ward fired by Activision for “insubordination”


• Zampella and West countersue (fired RIGHT before they were supposed to get paid for MW2)


• Activision seeking internal documents of creation of new company (w/EA?)


• Activision’s statement about the lawsuit

Pimpin’

• New Videos Every Wednesday (or your money back)




• KEEP PLAYING: Rewind – Comix Zone (last week)


• Keep Playing: Borderlands (this week)


• Famicom Dojo: Season 2 – What Nintendon’t (next week)




• Powet Alphabet




• (J is for JJ, Joss, and Judd, K is for Kinnikuman)


• (L is for ?, M is for ?)




• PAX East 2010

What is this composite, amalgamated entity? If you’re a fan of anything Science Fiction, Science Fantasy, or generally geek, you’ve seen movies and/or TV shows by at least one of these three gentlemen — if not all three — even if you don’t know their names. Of the many things they have in common, the most obvious (and least important) is that all of their names start with “J”. I frequently can’t think of one without thinking of the other two. Together they are like some triune entity, the three faces of a Geek (not “Greek”) god.

Let’s explore their credentials together.

JJ Abrams

While his name may be in front of the critically-acclaimed LOST, now in its final season on ABC, real credit for its continued success goes to show runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. Even so, from the very first episode, this series had the welcome fingerprints of Mr. Abrams all over it. Mysterious plane crash where most of the survivors inexplicably survive? Check. Inexplicable forest monster? Check. The lame walking and the sick healed? Check and check.

If you don’t believe me, let’s go back a little further to a show called Alias. This was in the days before Jennifer Garner was better half of Bennifer Part Deux, busting up the inside of your TV with sweet fighting moves and scintillating lingerie that would make your gay aunt blush. Ass-kicking-in-style aside, at the heart of the show’s mythology was a chase after the mantle and the very real remains of a fictional philosopher/inventor/prophet called Rambaldi. Unlike many of the doomsayers of our literal past, Rambaldi’s predictions were usually quite spot-on, including diagrams for what looked like the inner workings of a cell phone. Harkening back to “G is for Grails“, the ultimate prize was the mysterious Rambaldi Device, which promised unimaginable power. Like LOST, it had bad guys that were REALLY bad, but you loved to hate and hated yourself for loving. It had good guys that were of questionable goodness. And, like LOST, it was all about the people. (For good or for ill, this is also the show that introduced us to Bradley Cooper.)

Which is why it might be a shock that this is also the mind that launched Felicity. But if it’s all about the people, is it really that surprising? And lest you worry that this just another college soap/drama about how people screw up their relationships and sleep with everyone else on the main cast because there’s nothing else to do, you should cast your eyes to the final season. Felcity (played by Keri Russell — remember that!) finds herself back in her freshman year, yet still aware of everything that had occurred (but apparently had been undone) in the last four years. Then again, it could just be a plot contrivance to fill out six episodes the producers hadn’t planned on making, and this flight from reality is meaningless. Then again, Only Idiots Like Felicity.

Of course, JJ’s most recent (and most hailed) success was making Star Trek relevant again last year after five series and ten movies. Who else could have succeeded, where such poignant parodies as Galaxy Quest should have ensured that no one would take the franchise seriously again? Like Felicity and LOST (and, to some extent, Alias), the plot of Star Trek (2009) hinges upon a time travel event, which — more like Felicity than LOST — fails to explain all of the apparent differences. But it’s also a grand collision of geek titans: Zachary Quinto from “Heroes” as Spock, a screenplay penned by Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman of “Transformers” fame, and Damon Lindelof from “LOST” producing. Out of all these things, Star Trek is the only one that still has a future, even though it lost out on a Best Picture nod.

Joss Whedon

If JJ is a Star Wars fan who remade Star Trek, then Joss Whedon is a man cut from the same cloth, but who so far has sustained himself on original (and just as critically-acclaimed) geek properties. He also has a thing for strong women characters”. But one thing at a time…

Nearly every geek has heard of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, however before the TV show there was a movie. A very campy movie starring Pee Wee Herman, heartthrob Luke Perry from 90210, and some-chick-you’ll-never-hear-from-again. It was just as corny as the title suggests, but it was an excuse to… well… I don’t know what exactly. But finding out that the TV show had anything to do with that long-gone film of yesteryear, much less that the connective tissue was Whedon himself, was quite a revelation to someone who only knew of it peripherally because his sister loved to watch it. SO MUCH. Its spinoff — like JJ Abrams’ Felicity — was on the WB, which is where Buffy herself wound up. In that time, the show took a much more serious tone than the vapid, bubblegum romp that inspired it. It also showed Whedon’s penchant for interesting character development, and then pulling at viewers’ heart strings as quickly as he pulled out the rug (and sometimes the lives) from under fan favorites. Even the much-vaunted musical episode was a taste of things to come.

What made Joss Whedon a name in the the circles where I run was the launch of a little show called “Firefly”. If the original Star Trek was a “wagon train to the stars”, then Firefly was truly a western in space. Like real life, and less like other sci fi universes that swing the idealism pedulum to one side, Firefly gave us a future world that — much like the one we live in — is fantastic for some, but not so good for others. Our heroes were men and women living on the margins, but IN SPACE. Its subsequent premature cancellation (the first of many for Whedon) would be a clarion call to geeks everywhere. (Well, some geeks; I was too busy mourning the fate of Farscape.) It caused such an outcry that the series got a proper ending in the form of a feature film that was so praised, it was said to have rivaled impact of the original Star Wars. How could it not? It had all of the Joss Whedon hallmarks: rapid-fire, witty dialogue; an adorable penchant for mischief; and an untimely and surprising character death that left you in shock for the rest of the film. It might even be argued that this should-have-been-impossible-to-make film helped pave the way for the possibility of JJ’s successful Star Trek revamp.

Which is why it’s so sad and surprising that Dollhouse was such a critical and commercial failure. (But it still got TWO full seasons!) It lacked the heart of earlier Whedon offerings. It’s hard to have a strong female lead when that lead spends much of her time being a vegetable. The show later found its footing in questioning the nature of identity, questions of the soul, and the dangers of technology, but its management at the hands of the same network that canceled Firefly left the show’s creator wondering why he didn’t stick to internet video.

AND WHY NOT? Doctor Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog is a three-part masterpiece that epitomizes everything that fans love about Joss Whedon. It’s like Buffy: The Musical, except the cast members were actually selected for their singing ability first and foremost. Nathan Fillion (from Firefly) teams up with Felicia Day (later from Dollhouse) and Neil Patrick Harris (just AWESOME) to bring us the same quirky, skewed slant on usual geek and musical tropes with the same heartbreaking ending one comes to expect from a Whedon outing. Even the commentary was done as a musical. You don’t get much better than that.

Judd Apatow

Well, maybe a little better. Judd Apatow has directly (and, through his peers, indirectly) ruled the comedy film roost since “The 40 Year Old Virgin”. Each of his films is about a geeky social misfit who finally finds a way to to be a little more normal. Unlike other films about geek conformity, though, the characters in Apatow’s films tend to be fairly well-adjusted to their flagrant disregard for societal norms. These films are less about “how to be normal when you grow up”, but rather “how to grow up, but still be a geek.” And proud of it!

Out of all the films that could be credited to his troupe and sensibilities (Anchorman, Superbad, Talladega Nights, Walk Hard, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Step Brothers, Pineapple Express, Year One), only 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Funny People sit upon his directing mantle. But we can credit this comedic renaissance, and its themes, with this one man — even if he is responsible for “The Cable Guy”…

But he was also the mastermind of television’s aptly-named (and very telling) Freaks and Geeks. As someone who never saw that show, but loves the movies, I can only imagine what it must be like for Judd Apatow fans who have been there since “the beginning”.

Judd Apatow may not run in quite the same circles as his other “J” counterparts, but he frequently employs or collaborates with geek favorites in his movie-making entourage: Seth Rogen, Michael Cera, Will Farrel, Harold Ramis, Jack Black, and many others.

It’s not easy being geek

Be that as it may, is it long before more crossovers begin to happen? Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion already hooked up in “The Waitress”. Dollhouse captured a couple of Battlestar Galactica alumni. Allyson Hannigan (Willow from Buffy) and Neil Patrick Harris currently co-star together on How I Met Your Mother.

The geek event horizon is upon us! There is no escape. J is the alpha and the omega.

Enjoy the universe while it lasts, fellow geeks.

Direct Link: Cool Beans 03/05 ep 004: Versus

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Movies:
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths [Blu-ray]
Halo Legends [Blu-ray]

Games
Transformers G1 Awakening
Plants vs Zombies, Web demo
Heavy Rain
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars

Comics
Axe Cop

TV:
Ricky Gervais Show
Aqua Teen Hunger Force

Toys:
Marvel Select Dr Doom Throne
Transformers Revenge of the Fallen – Lockdown
Transformers Animated Arcee

Tech:
Wii Energizer Flat Panel 2x Induction Charger

This weeks music by
Jaydiohead
Party Ben
Lance Lockarm

MattyCollector.com curbs your buying habits. Mass Effect 2 curbs your romance options. Are you enthusiastic about the shakeup at DC Entertainment? Is this tease shameless punnery?

Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 28: Down the Digital River

Audio Netcast Details
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(Have you tried using MattyCollector.com? Any theories on what Nintendo could announce at E3? Leave a comment below!)

Show notes after the jump!

Panel

• 
  Sean “Missed a Week” Corse
  


• Zac “Lumberjack” Shipley
  


• Crazy “Owlman” Jaco


• aDam “14 Gold Medals” Gardner

News

• Matt Smith’s Doctor Who – Trailer


• Geoff Johns and Jim Lee shakeup at DC! JimLee00 (Twitter)


• IN RELATED NEWS:




• Action Comics #1 sells for (Dr. Evil) ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!


• Then, mere days later, Detective Comics #27 beats it


• DC Movie news:




• Mark Strong is Sinestro (Powet.TV link) 


• David Goyer pens Man of Steel (Amazon.com Link)


• Jonathan Nolan MAY direct Superman, thanks to brother Chris?


• Greg Berlanti to Direct The Flash?


• Nintendo releasing Metroid and Mario in less than 3 months, whats left for E3 and the second half of 2010?  Zelda.




• Other M Impressions (Joystiq)
  


• Monthly MattyCollector Update:




• MattyCollector opens fan forums, not prepared for nerd hissyfits.


• BattleCat/Trap Jaw day perfect storm of mess ups




• Trap Jaw sold out in 22 minutes


• Battle Cat sold out in 33 minutes
  


• Display Stands sold out in 1 hour
  


• Man-At-Arms reissue had a bug and wasn’t available until hours later causing an error and many to miss out on the other two figures
  


• MOTUC Brand Manager’s reaction: You should have gotten a subscription; Trap Jaw/Battle Cat going back to production.


• Matty answers some concerns and tells most to suck it. (Did we cover this in the Toy Fair episode?)




• Addresses changing in sculpt, panthor flocking debate, artbook sale, and massive failure of DR on Battle Cat day.


• ToyGuru: “[Orko] will not be like ‘Gleek’ and only be available at SDCC or something like that.”


• RIP Andrew Koenig




• Batman: Dead End

Roundtable

• Video Game Characterization




• With games (such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age) that allow players to make their own choices, there are still some rules for things players cannot do because of “story” and “characterization”.  Sexuality is increasingly one of those traits.


• I have one take on it, but BioWare disagrees.
  

Pimpin’

• New Videos Every Wednesday (or your money back)
  




• KEEP PLAYING: Rewind – 2010 Preview - (four weeks ago)


• KEEP PLAYING: Mass Effect 2 – Of Great Import (three weeks ago)


• PowetToys: Collectors Edition – Tampography/Pad Printing (two weeks ago)


• Missed! Get your money back! (last week)


• Famicom Dojo: Season 2 – Sega Family Tree Special (this week)


• KEEP PLAYING: Rewind (next week)


• Powet Alphabet




• (F is for Freakazoid, G is for Grails)


• (H is for High Fidelity, I is for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)


• (J is for ?, K is for ?)


• PAX East 2010

Direct Link: Cool Beans – Toy Fair 2010

Audio Netcast Details
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Music by:

Direct Link: Cool Beans 02/12 ep 002: Snow Blowers

Audio Netcast Details
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NEWS

* Reminder that MattyCollector day for this month was pushed to the 16th.
* Snow Paralyzes the District (no sign of Taco Bell opening soon)
* Original Xbox Live support going offline April 15th, DLC taken down, but being restored.
* Bungie having “last horrah” for Halo 2 on April 14th.
* More Tony Hawk Ride slated for 2010
* (Rumor) Dead Space Extraction rumored to be coming to 360 and PS3 for $14.99, Dead Space Planet-Cracker also coming.
* Transformers War for Cybertron coming in May
* Project Needlemouse is Sonic 4, coming to all platforms including iPhone and will be episodic

Cool Beans:

* Movies
o Observe And Report (zac)
* games
o Mass Effect 2 (Zero)
o Bioshock 2 impressions (Zero)
o 1 vs 100 (Crazy)
o Borderlands (zac)
o Marvel vs Capcom 2 (crazy)
* tv
o SuperBowl Commercials
+ Google
+ Leno/Letterman
+ Doritos/Budlite buyout
* music
o Gorillaz – Stylo
o
Kid Cudi
o BT – These Hopeful Machines
o Massive Attack – Heligoland

Bad Beans

* Movies
o Avatar nominated for best picture
* games
o Pre-Order DLC becoming out of hand
o
The end of Halo 2 Live Play
* music
o 30 Seconds To Mars
o
The Who’s Superbowl Preformance

* Olympic Mascot fiasco including pedo bear

Music Credits:

“Saturday Come Slow” – Massive Attack

“Stylo (feat. Mos Def and Bobby Womack)” – Gorillaz

“Day ‘N’ Nite [Explicit]
” – Kid Cudi

“Suddenly (BT Radio Edit)” – BT

So we did some crate digging and put together a synthesizer powered podcast of 15 songs to get your weekend off right.

EDIT: This podcast is no longer available via our home page.

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1. Pop Will Eat Itself – “Can You Dig It?”
2. Lake Trout – “Luvean”
3. Kenna – “Daylight”
4. Weezer – “I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams”
5. Karmella’s Game – “The Revolution Will Be Cybercast”
6. Dragonette – “Fixin To Thrill”
7. Nas – “Made You Look (Metroid Remix)”
8. The Dismemberment Plan – “Gyroscope”
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Heads Will Roll”
10. Soul Coughing – “The Idiot Kings”
11. Flaming Lips – “Race For The Prize”
12. Notorious DLR – “Hypnotized with the Devil”
13. Handsome Boy Modeling School – “Rock & Roll”
14. BT – “Forget Me”
15. The Clash – “This is England”

It’s not easy being green in the entertainment industry, yet suddenly everyone is trying it. We talk about how video game sequels are superior to other kinds of sequels, specifically the sequel-du-jour Mass Effect 2

Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 27: Red-Green Herring

Audio Netcast Details
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(Did you get Mass Effect 2? How are you liking it? Leave a comment below!)

Show notes after the jump!

Panel

• Sean “Commander Shepard” Corse
• Zac “Open Face Spaghetti Sandwich” Shipley

• Crazy “is bad at Transformers Multiplayer” Jaco
• aDam “David Frank” Gardner
• Logan “LROO” Michael Roop

News

• Disney Closes Miramax
• Green Ranger Jason David Frank debuts at MMA
• First Peek at the Green Lantern Corps
• Marvel sees DC’s Brightest Day and raises with Heroic Age
• Planet Hulk DVD drops Tuesday, February 2nd
• Metroid Other M teaser – Website
• Toy Fair UK
• Large Scale AT-AT
• Transformers Updates
• Team Coco Update! (aka Maximum Letdown: Jay Leno):
• Conan signed $45 million deal to quit Tonight Show
• Staff splits $12 million
• Conan will supplement more from his severance
• Now that he’s gotten what he wanted, Jay comes clean
• Admitted to lying through his teeth on Oprah
• A poll conducted on Oprah.com found that 96% of Winfrey’s audience was on Conan’s side in this “mess.”

Roundtable

• Video Game Sequels (continued from Cool Beans 01)
• Usually better than the original
• Shenmue 2
• Mass Effect 2
• Halo: Reach breaks the “Prequel Rule”?

Pimpin’

• New Videos Every Wednesday (or your money back)
• KEEP PLAYING: Pac-man Championship Edition on iPhone (two weeks ago)
• Famicom Dojo: Season 2 – Train Your Game (last week)
• KEEP PLAYING: Rewind (this week)
• KEEP PLAYING: Mass Effect 2 (next week)
• Powet Alphabet
• (D is for Doom, E is for Enterprise)
• (F is for ?, G is for ?)
• Powet Monthly Digest – January 2010
• PAX East 2010

Direct Link: Cool Beans 001: Eli’s Comin’

Audio Netcast Details
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Cool Beans

Movies

* Book Of Eli (aDam/zac/sean)
* 500 Days of Summer (zac/sean)
* Moon (Zero/aDam)

Games

* Scribblenauts (zac/Sean)
* Mass Effect 2 (Zero/Sean)

TV

* The Last Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (zac/Sean)
* Dollhouse: The Final Episodes (Sean)

Stuff that sucks.

* The Office Clip Show
* Caprica
* iPad

Music credits:

“Change The Game” – Rick Rock
“I’m Not Happy” – Bruce McCulloch
“Zero” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
“Surrounded (Or Spiraling)” – Silversun Pickups

follow us on twitter @powettv, find powet on facebook, and write us letters powettv@gmail.com

We take you on a time journey back through previous Powetcasts, talking about Season 5 of LOST, and what we awesomeness we hope awaits in Season 6.

Direct Link: Prime Cuts 01: LOST Season 5

Audio Netcast Details
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(Are you looking forward to the Season 6 premiere of LOST? If you’ve time traveled here from the future, have you already seen it? Leave a comment below!)

Show notes after the jump!

Panel

• Sean “Boone” Corse
• Zac “Sawyer” Shipley
• aDam “Preggers Claire” Gardner
• Crazy “Driveshaft” Jaco
• Sindra “The French Woman”
• Logan “I’m not caught up on LOST” Roop

Episode 01.5: 2009 – Best Year Ever?

Episode 04
Cool Beans

Episode 08: Rockin’ a Ponytail
Cool Beans

• OMG LOST!

Episode 10: War of the Prequels
Cool Beans

• LOST Season finale

Episode 15: SDCC, Marvel, LOST, and DC
Roundtable

• LOST!!! http://powet.tv/forum/index.php?topic=3154.615

Episode 21: Back in Time
Roundtable

• Time Travel in Fiction (free will and determinism)
• LOST – Everything that happened, happened (probably)
• Terminator (2 onward) – No fate but what we make
• Flashforward…?
• Reality Check #57: Free Will/Determinism

Episode 25.5: Coolest Beans of 2009

• LOST starring Michael Fucking Emerson

Pimpin’

• LOST Season 5 Dharma Intiative Orientation Kit Review

Is Avatar all it’s cracked up to be? With mere days to go until Mass Effect 2, should you pick up Dragon Age: Origins? With plenty of Tonight Show jokes in tow, it’s the pre-first episode of Cool Beans!

Direct Link: Cool Beans 00: Avatar’d

Audio Netcast Details
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Show notes after the jump!

Cool Beans

Movies

• Avatar

TV

• Misfits – Like Heroes only British and not shitty
• Star Wars: Clone Wars – 2008 series

Games

• Dragon Age: Origins
• Forza 3
• Bugatti Veyron operating costs so expensive, it’s cheaper to use a private jet?
• Borderlands
• XBox Live

It’s a new decade! New Spider-man, new Sonic, new Late Night, and new NBC? We can only hope…

Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 26: We’re With Coco

Audio Netcast Details
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(How do you feel about Jay Leno going back on a 5 year-old promise? Leave a comment below!)

Show notes after the jump!

Panel

• Sean “TheOrange” Corse
• Zac “Aristocrat” Shipley
• Crazy “fears Mo-larr” Jaco
• Mo-Larr
• aDam “Black Hole Healing” Gardner
• Logan “Triggerheart” Roop
• Sindra“I got nothin’”

News

• John Malkovich announces he is going to play “The Vulture” in Spider-man 4
• Spider-man 4 is scrapped mere hours later
• Blake Livelyis Carol Ferris, Peter Sarsgard is Hector Hammond,
• Mark Strong as Sinestro?
• State of the Unionwon’t preempt final season premiere of LOST (is Obama a fan?)
• ZOMBIELAND writers penning Deadpool andGIJOE 2
• Marvel asks comic book shops to destroy DC comics for exclusive cover
• Needlemouse countdown over: Officially Sonic-only
• Mattel MOTUC Update
• Adora sold out in 27 minutes
• Mossman got flocked
• Goddess is a bobblehead

Roundtable

• What the hell is gonna happen to TV in the coming decade?
• NBC Screws Conan O’Brien IN THE BUTTHOLE.
• Comcast in the process of buying NBC
• NewsCorp charging Time Warner to “rebroadcast” Fox

Pimpin’

• PowetToys: MOTUC Heman/Reissue/Faker
• LOST Season 5 Dharma Intiative Orientation Kit Review (last week)
• (Zac) (this week)
• (Sean) (next week)
• Powet Alphabet
• (B is for Blackest Night, C is for Conan)
• (D is for ?, E is for ?)