Since the new season ofGame of Thrones started recently, I felt that is was appropriate to talk about this amazing series.
I started to watch Game of Thrones a year ago. It had always looked interesting, but I just never found the time for it. After it was highly recommended, I decided it was the time to sit down and finally watch what everyone was talking about. I was far from disappointed: the show was fantastic!
Whenever someone asks me what Game of Thrones is about, I never know what to say. The show is very complex, constantly changing the point of view. The books are like this too. In each chapter, the point of view changes to a different character.
In short, Game of Thrones is about Westeros, a fictional kingdom. Several families in this kingdom (Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, Targaryen) are fighting to gain control of the Iron Throne (as seen above).
This HBO series is based on ASong of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin.
Game of Thrones started its third season on March 31. It is on HBO Sunday nights at 9.
We all knew this was coming: Harry Potter. If you haven't noticed, the background image is of Harry Potter battling The Doctor, who we have already talked about.
Jo Rowling came up with the idea for Harry Potter in 1990, on a train from Manchester to London. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published in the UK in 1997 and in the United States in 1998. This was the beginning of a worldwide phenomenon.
I began reading Harry Potter in 2001, after my sister took me to seeHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in theaters. If it weren't for Harry Potter, I wouldn't be the same person that I am today. Before I read Harry Potter, I hated to read. Now I'm an English major, dedicating my life to my love of reading. If someone had told me that this one movie would change my life forever, I probably would have laughed at them.
As I have said before, Harry Potter has its own genre of music: Wizard Rock. Wizard Rock shows are always fun, nerdy events.
Me & Alex Carpenter (The Remus Lupins)
Me & Jason Munday (Ministry of Magic)
Even though all of the books and movies are completed, the Harry Potter community is still going strong. Within the last few years, Harry Potter fans could join Pottermore, an interactive website. Here, fans could explore each chapter, make potions, and even be sorted into houses (I was sorted into Ravenclaw).
A Chapter in Pottermore
There is also a Harry Potter theme park in Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. It is called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Fans finally have the chance to walk through Hogsmeade and visit Hogwarts.
I know that this isn't like my other posts, but it is still relevant. I just recently came back from a trip to New York City, and I felt that it was appropriate to talk about some of the nerdy things that I did there.
One nerdy place that I visited was Forbidden Planet, a nerdy store. They had everything you could imagine: Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, superheroes, and so on. It felt like a sort of nerd paradise.
Forbidden Planet
Right next door was The Strand, which is a bookstore. As an English major and a lover of books, I was amazed by what I saw inside. There were about four floors in the store, with books piled from floor to ceiling.
The Strand
Anyone familiar with the Science channel would recognize this name: Obscura. Obscura Antiques and Oddities is a small store in New York. It was made famous by the show Oddities. I was excited to finally see the store in person, but it turned out to be a bit disappointing. There were a lot of interesting objects inside, but it was not the same store that they use in the show. (I have a theory that there is another store used for the show, and that this one is for tourists.)
Obscura Antiques and Oddities
As a big Doctor Who fan, there was one thing in Central Park that I had to see: Bethesda Fountain. Earlier in this season of Doctor Who, this fountain was featured in an episode called "The Angels Take Manhattan". This episode is particularly upsetting for any Doctor Who fans, as it is was the last time that we saw Amy Pond and Rory Williams, the Doctor's companions.
If you haven't noticed, the background image is of Harry Potter battling The Doctor (we'll get to Harry Potter later). Today, I'm here to tell you about The Doctor. Instead of me telling you the basics of Doctor Who, I'm going to let Craig Ferguson take over.
As Craig Ferguson points out, Doctor Who originally began in 1963. The classic series ran from 1963 until 1989. During this time, seven actors played the role of The Doctor. In 1996, Doctor Who resurfaced, this time in a movie starring Paul McGann as the Eight Doctor. Doctor Who remained on hiatus until 2005, when a continuation of the series aired. Christopher Eccleston played The Doctor in the newer series, followed by David Tennant, and currently, Matt Smith. These newer episodes of Doctor Who are what most new fans are familiar with, including myself.
As Craig Ferguson said, The Doctor is an alien from the planet Gallifrey, and he is over 1000 years old. He travels through all of space and time in his TARDIS, which is a time machine. It is a 60s style blue police box, and it is bigger on the inside. TARDIS stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space.
The TARDIS
Naturally The Doctor, being as old and powerful as he is, has a lot of enemies. No matter where The Doctor goes, there is always some challenge that needs to be overcome or some monster that needs to be defeated. The Doctor's oldest and most feared enemy are the Daleks, a race of cyborgs who want to destroy every lifeform except for Daleks. The Doctor also faces the Weeping Angels. These creatures are just stone statues... when you're looking at them. As soon as you turn your back, or even blink, they move. A Weeping Angel can move only if it is unseen. In addition to these monsters, The Doctor has faced many more creatures and aliens.
The Daleks
Weeping Angel
I became a fan of Doctor Who in 2010, merely by
accident. I was a fan of the current Doctor at that time (David Tennant of Harry
Potter fame), and I wanted to see his work on Doctor Who. I had
no idea what I was getting myself into, or how incredible the show actually
was.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. The show is currently in its seventh season of the new Doctor Who series. The next episode airs on March 30 at 8pm on BBC America.
From left to right: A walker, Emma Bell as Amy, Jon Bernthal as Shane Walsh, Steven Yeun as Glenn, Sarah Wayne Callies as Lori Grimes, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Jeffrey DeMunn as Dale, and Laurie Holden as Andrea
Since The Walking Dead had its mid-season premiere last Sunday, I felt that it appropriate to talk about this amazing show. The Walking Dead first aired on AMC in 2010, and is now in its third season.
Some of you may or may not know this, but The Walking Dead originated from a comic book series. The first comic was released in 2003, written by Robert Kirkman. It is not necessary for fans to read the comics before or after watching the TV show, but that doesn't mean that they should be overlooked. The show and the comic book series share the same basic storyline, but so many changes are made that there is no way to know which direction the show will go in. For example, Daryl Dixon, a popular character on the show, doesn't exist in the comic books. Also, the fates of many characters change. Characters who have died on the show are alive in later issues of the comic, and vice versa.
Even though I have read the comic series, I still find myself tuning in week to week for the show. Each episode is like an adventure, and it is like experiencing Rick and the group's journey in an entirely different light.
The Walking Dead airs on Sundays at 9pm on AMC. The Talking Dead, a talk show about each week's episode, airs after The Walking Dead. This is hosted by Chris Hardwick, a fellow nerd.
I'll bet that most of you did not know that there are entire genres of music dedicated to nerdy things. Music about Harry Potter is called Wizard Rock (or more commonly known as Wrock). Music about Doctor Who is called Time Lord Rock (or Trock). There is also music for The Hunger Games, Star Wars, and nerdiness in general.
Some well-known Wrock groups are The Remus Lupins, Ministry of Magic, Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls, Harry and the Potter, and The Whomping Willows. Two well-known Trock bands are Chameleon Circuit and Alex Carpenter.
One of the first Wrockers I started to listen to was Alex Carpenter (from The Remus Lupins). Alex also writes music for Doctor Who and The Hunger Games.
"Don't Blink" Music Video:
"Dumbledore"- A Parody of Taio Cruz:
Another important person in the nerd music community is Jason Munday. He is a Wrocker (from Ministry of Magic), and he also writes music about Star Wars other various other nerdy things.
"California Dorks"- A Parody of Katy Perry:
"The Empire":
If you are ever given the chance, it is always worthwhile to see one of these groups live. Alex Carpenter and Jason Munday go on tour almost every year, performing with various other nerdy bands.
Another important group in the Harry Potter music community is StarKid. StarKid made three musicals dedicated to Harry Potter, A Very Potter Musical (AVPM), A Very Potter Sequel (AVPS), and A Very Potter Senior Year (AVPSY). AVPSY is set to be released on YouTube later this year. Ever since the release of AVPM in 2009, StarKid has received over 142 million views on YouTube.
TBS aired a new show last week called King of the Nerds. It is a reality show, but it is unlike any others that exist.
The first episode welcomed the eleven contestants to Nerdvana, a dream house for nerds. They were then divided into two teams with the traditional "schoolyard" pick, something that nerds fear. Members were picked for teams based on that nerdy qualities they had, from physics, gaming, pop culture, etc. One nerd was not chosen. She was to pick the team who had chosen the best people based on what skills they had to offer. She chose the orange team, and was awarded a spot on the blue team. Because of her choice, the blue team were the losers of the week and were forced to send a member home.
Each week, the losing team must have two of their members participate in a nerd-off, which is a head-to-head challenge. During the first nerd-off, two members of the blue team played chess to determine who would continue into the next week. Of course, this wasn't your average chess match. A life-sezed chessboard was set up, and when a piece was lost, a man dressed like he was from 300 destroyed it. The way that they set up the chessboard reminded me of Harry Potter, when the trio played wizard chess on their way to the Sorcerer's Stone.
So far I am enjoying this new show, as I am a nerd myself. However, I think that the number of people watching this is limited, because they make many obscure references that the average viewer wouldn't understand. But I also think that there are enough nerds out there who will tune in week to week to see what nerdy adventures will happen in Nerdvana.
The contestants are battling weekly for the chance to win $100,000 and the title of King of the Nerds.
King of the Nerds airs on Thursday at 10pm on TBS.
