A wonderfully creative person in Second Life by the name of Janeel Kharg has actually built a virtual version of Ankh-Morpork, with all kinds of interesting details, hidden ways, goodies and giveaways. Be sure to pick up a free map when you arrive so you can find your way around. To get there, use this SLURL. There are also some excellent Discworld Avatars available at the sim, which you can look at here.
Today is the opening ceremony at the NADWCon, or North American Discworld Con, in Baltimore, MD. Obviously Sir Terry Pratchett is the Guest of Honor, but a lot of other folks will be there as well, including another favorite satirical author of mine, Esther M. Friesner. I recommend haunting the media area, in case you might be able to see some footage of the new TV series The Watch, assuming they got the money to make it. Note this is supposed to be a full TV series, and not a miniseries like Hogfather, Going Postal, or The Color Of Magic. 13 hour long episodes!
Both of the two main releases this week are on the big screen on Wednesday the 3rd to take advantage of the extended holiday weekend box office returns. The Lone Ranger and Despicable Me 2 are both films I have been waiting quite a while to see, and I will be in the theater for both of them on the 3rd.
Top movie selection this time around absolutely has to be Tai Chi Hero, the sequel to the amazing Steampunk Tai Chi Zero. This film series is very hard to describe properly, but it is a world of fun, and I recommend it highly. 6 Souls might be interesting as well, I suppose.
I didn’t find any TV series this time around, but Anime did slightly better with three entries. Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere: Season Two continues the national maneuvering for power and position, and I mean that quite literally. It looks like we finally get to see the Armor of Deadly Sins in action this time around as well. Natsume’s Book of Friends: Season 4 finds our protagonist still tracking down the Yokai (monsters, spirits) listed in his grandfathers book and giving them back their rightful names. But now he must also consider his future, and make some hard decisions. Finally, Ruin Explorers is a 4 episode OVA about two highly trained magic users who can’t spell right (I am pretty sure the pun is intentional) in a race to collect three artifacts before their opponents beat them to it. This one looks pretty amusing for old school Anime, it is vintage 1995.
The Saturn Awards are handed out by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, and try to honor the best TV and Movies each year. There are some amazing programs up for consideration this year; I will be cheering on The Avengers and Joss Whedon for their multiple nominations and hope they each take home something, but there is some stiff competition. For the full list, see the Saturn Awards Nominations Page.
The fantasy film this week is a re-release of 1965’s Beatles Help!, but since this is the first time ever a fully restored version will be available on Blue Ray, perhaps it could be counted as a new release. Also, while not exactly genre, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is a fun film with more than a tip of the hat to the magically inclined.
In TV, Todd & the Book of Pure Evil: The Complete Second Season is finally being released in the US. It has been available on streaming for a while through various paid streaming services, but this will be the first opportunity to add it to your permanent collection in this country. Meanwhile, the cast and crew have been trying to raise the funds to get a third season going; read about it at their web site.
In Anime, Heaven’s Lost Property: Forte is season 2 of the series and continues the trail of havoc the wishes of the high school protagonist creates as his android angels (or angelic androids, they are a little unclear on that point) carry them out. Juden Chan: The Complete Series is about spirit girls from another universe who charge up the depressed so they can live their lives, and what happens when they meet a boy who can see them.
Another spirit girl is a shinigami called Momo: The Girl God of Death, who does her best to help the spirits of the no longer living she guides to the other side. Helps so much she herself winds up in trouble, in fact. This is more of an OVA than a series, since the entire thing is only six 25 minute episodes long, but all of them are here.
Old school anime from the late 80s, Saint Seiya Movies 1 & 2 are being re-released together, with the 3rd and 4th movies in another box set. I couldn’t find a link to the official web site, so I linked one of the TV series instead, where you can watch episodes and get an idea of the program.