iZombie Episode 8: Dead Air

iZombie fans rejoice! If you haven't heard by now, the series has been picked up for a second season! It's not known yet when it will premiere or how many episodes were ordered. The first season had a mid-season debut and 10 episodes were ordered for it, so let's all cross our fingers and hope we get a full 23 episodes out of it - or at the very least, a half season of 13 episodes. Now that the good news has been announced, let's get on with the rest of the good stuff!

Last week Liv turned into Zombiemom after eating the brain of a pregnant girl, and she gained an appreciation for her own mother. She and Lowell got to know each other better. We saw lieutenant Suzuki in action as Zombiecop, and Major got more than he bargained for when he found the Candyman. Ravi conducted a clinical study on some rats with Utopium and MaxRager drinks, with an interesting - if gross - outcome. And one of the rats gets lost again.

This week, things heated up for Liv and Lowell. Major got beat up and released from jail, and Ravi saw Payton in a different light. A radio host was murdered live on the air. Liv found the lost rat, and Ravi believes for a moment that he's created a monster. I need to say how much I am loving the prop and make-up department on this production! Major's bashed up face... the delivery boy's flayed open head on Jackie's counter from episode 6... the dead rats... They can come decorate my house and do my make-up for Halloween - or anything - whenever they want!

Another of the things I am loving about this series is the continuity. While the general theme of the show is "crime of the week," there's more going on than that. It looks like Lieutenant Suzuki's story is about to expand and mingle with the storyline between Major and Blaine - did I mention there's a twist this week? Oh - and there's a really huge OMG, too.

There's been a lot of speculation about whether or not Suzuki is in Blaine's pocket or not, and this week we find out what team he bats for. And it looks like next week's episode will be a rev-up for the season finale, judging by the way this week's episode wound up at the end. My guess (and fervent hope) is that the last episode of the season will go off with one hell of a bang!

So far, the Livwell ship is still afloat. But is it me, or does Lowell seem really insightful about what's going on with Liv? I mean, he comes to the exact, correct conclusions about her behavior every damn time - even before she does. And I'm not so sure yet that bringing Ravi and Payton together is a good thing.

I really wanted to kick Liv's ass for how she treated Ravi about the whole issue, and I think I fell in love with Rahul Kohli's performances even more. That particular scene was an emotional moment that was very well played. I felt Ravi's pain. Hopefully all this shipping doesn't take the focus off the whole premise of the show - crime solving and zombie research with our new Scoobie Gang.

What do you think - too much shipping going on?  Should they just stick to the storytelling, crime scene action, and brain eating? Hit the jump for the recap, and tell us what you think in the comments below!

Episode 149: End of an Era

One more episode until the 150th Episode ever of the Ace of Geeks Podcast, and a lot of things are going to change when that drops. But first! With a nostalgic theme song backing us, we discuss the new trailer for J. Michael Straczynski and the Wachowski's Netflix Series Sense 8, how much the geek world is suddenly turning on Age of Ultron, Joss Whedon leaving Twitter, the upcoming stacked cast of Civil War, and whether Iron Man is the worst Avenger!

Episode 149!

Star Wars X-Wing Bay Area Store Championship

Do you ever have that feeling that you just came up with a great idea, only to find out that someone else thought of it first?  That must be how Mike felt when he told me that there was an X-Wing store championship for the Bay Area going on.

In case you hadn't heard of what seems to be the fastest growing miniature game around, Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Games is a fast paced, fighter focused, miniature dogfighting game produced by Fantasy Flight Games.  Its starter set comes with almost everything that you need to play the game, from dice, to measuring sticks, to asteroid and space debris, making it one of the most accessible games available.  It has a large collection of pre-painted, medium detail plastic miniatures that come with their own stands, bases with information, and order dials, so the amount of time that you spend preparing for a game is quite minimal.  This might not attract those who are interested in the hobbying aspect of a miniatures game, but with the relatively low buy in cost, you will have plenty of time and money left over to buy, assemble, customize, paint and play that 10 man infantry squad from that grim dark space combat game you love so much.  Or you could just buy the Imperial line of X-Wing miniatures.

Star Wars Reveals Titles, Crew for Two New Movies!

StarWars.com released a ton of new details from a Lucasfilm shareholder meeting, and a lot of it is good! The first piece is a confirmation of something we reported way back when, that Rian Johnson will be writing and directing Episode VIII. This is fantastic news - Johnson's three films have ranged from good (Brothers Bloom) to great (Looper, Brick), and his episodes of Breaking Bad were some of the best in that show's run. We can't wait to see what he does with Star Wars.

The other piece of news concerns the title for Felicity Jones starring Star Wars standalone, directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) and written by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz (About a Boy, Cinderella). The film is entitled "Rogue One," and was developed based on an idea that John Knoll, Chief Creative Officer at ILM, had. If that name doesn't excite you, let me explain why it should: Rogue One is the callsign for the leader of Rogue Squadron, the X-wing pilots that heroically led the charge for the Rebel Alliance and were immortalized in the series of X-wing: Rogue Squadron books. The books are no longer canon, but a film all about X-wing fighters could be amazing. And while she's not confirmed to be playing Rogue One, a film about a female leader of a group of X-wing pilots would be friggin' gold.

Also announced were the release dates for the films:

Star Wars: Rogue One: December 16 2016
Star Wars VIII: May 26 2017

Rian Johnson to Write and Direct Episodes 8 and 9?

Deadline is reporting that Brick and Looper director Rian Johnson is in talks, or possibly even confirmed, to take over the main Star Wars franchise after JJ Abrams' stab at Episode 7. Rian would both write an direct the last two installments of the trilogy, bringing the nine-film saga finally to a close. (Well, a close until Disney's stand-alone films by folks like Godzilla's Gareth Edwards and Chronicle's Josh Trank come out.)

It's an interesting choice, to be sure. Johnson's films are known for a dark, gritty style, that doesn't necessarily seem to fit the Star Wars mold, and he has no proven experience with the kind of giant set pieces these films will require. Still, if Brick is any indication, he knows how to have fun with a concept. I'll be interesting to see what he develops for the future of Star Wars.

UPDATE: Adorably, Rian just tweeted this video in response to the news: