Episode 214: Simon Pegg MCM Panel

Here is the full Simon Pegg panel from MCM London.

Simon discusses The Dark Crystal, Star Trek, Star Wars, the Cornetto trilogy, Ready Player One and, Spaced.

Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to public prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced, directed by Edgar Wright. He went on to co-write and star in the Three Flavours Cornetto film trilogy: Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World’s End (2013). He and Nick Frost wrote and starred in the sci-fi film Paul (2011).



Episode 104: The World’s end

In which Pete returns and he and Martyn take a look at the final in the cornetto trilogy.

They also get drunk-well, Martyn gets drunk.

Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from twenty years earlier unwittingly become humanity’s only hope for survival.

The podcast can be accessed via different places, including Miro, Stiticher, Blubrry, Player fm and Itunes.

Check out the kickstarter for parallel house.

Check out our reviews of
Shaun of the dead and Hot Fuzz.

Why I don’t care for Big Bang Theory

Many of my friends and family LOVE The Big Bang Theory. I’ll admit, I’ll watch it if there’s nothing else on. but, something 20130309-165819.jpgabout the show has never sat right with me and, I think I’ve just figured out what. I’ve recently been suffering from a bout of chronic insomnia. So, one sleepless night I reached for the ever faithful, ever comforting, continually funny, Spaced.

Now, Spaced is without doubt the best geek TV show ever made. It’s made by geeks, for geeks.

For the unfamiliar, it’s a British sitcom about two strangers — Daisy and Tim (played by co-writers Jessica Hynes and Simon Pegg) —who have to pretend to be a couple to get a flat.

Like the Big Bang theory, Spaced featured in-jokes and movie references. With the Big Bang theory, they’re screaming “There’s a reference coming, We’re about to make a reference, here’s the reference, Did you get the reference? No, ok. Well here’s what the reference was about”.
Spaced was smarter, it worked on multiple levels. If you watch it as a straight sitcom, with no idea of the references, it will still make you laugh, but if you watch it and you pick up the references it makes you laugh in a different way.

It rewards multiple viewings. 14-years later and I’m still picking up things I’d missed before. The references aren’t gratuitous, they move the story along. There isn’t a random reference, for the sake of a random reference.
I can’t help but feel that the Big Bang Theory is just making fun of “geek culture”. Pointing the huge finger and shouting “THIS IS WHAT NERDS DO!”. Most of the humour comes from the audience laughing AT the characters and not with the characters. You’re not meant to be laughing at the jokes they make, you’re meant to be laughing at the guys themselves and that’s what doesn’t sit right with me, I’m meant to be laughing at myself, at my friends.



The characters aren’t likeable at all, now. Not every character has to be likeable. Every character in Seinfeld, Curb your enthusiasm and Arrested development was a detestable human being. But it takes skill to do this. The writing team on TBBT are too busy high-fiving themselves for squeezing in another reference, or lazy pop shot at geeks to give us believable characters. Instead, we get another overused stereotype, not seen since saved by the bell.

Leonard is whiny, weak and a mummy’s boy, Raj is shy around women and just irritating, Howard is sleazy and belongs on some sort of register and the star of the show, Sheldon is just a complete and utter dick.
Would anyone really be friends with him?

At first, I thought it may just be a cultural difference between a US show and a UK show. But, step forward Community. A show made by NBC which like Spaced, deals with geek culture in a respectful and realistic way. With community and Spaced, you never laugh at the characters, you laugh with them.

Episode 66: Shaun of the Dead

In which Martyn and Gerrod attempt to review Shaun Of The Dead.

WARNING: without Pete or Ash this episode turns filthy, fast.

The podcast is available from all good podcast services, such as but not limited to Amazon Music, PodchaserPlayer FM, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts.

Check out our Youtube.

Socials:

Twitter:

Martyn – @BadWilf

Gerrod –@InGerrodsMind

Pete – @BeeblePete

Instagram:

Martyn-@BadWilf



Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg start work on ‘The World’s End’.

After being announced in 2007, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright have finally started writing their third movie, in the blood and ice cream trilogy, “The World’s End?”.

In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, the dynamic duo expanded a bit on the film’s title and gave a brief plot synopsis.
“20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hell-bent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King, a 40-year old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their home town and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub, The World’s End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realise the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind. Reaching The World’s End is the least of their worries.”

Shaun of the Dead was Pegg and Wright’s homage to horror, Hot Fuzz to action films, The World’s End seems like it could be their homage to sci-fi disaster films. Could we possibly be looking at their answer to an Alien invasion movie?

The pair is scheduled to start shooting in the Autumn and are aiming for a 2013 release. I can’t wait for this movie. I’ll see you at The world’s end.



Film Review-Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol

The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization’s name.

I was curious to see this movie, as it’s the first live-action film from director Brad Bird. Bird has previously only worked on animated movies, so I approached this with intrigue. Visually the film is stunning and the locations are beautiful. The beauty is amplified by the fact that the movie was partially filmed with IMAX cameras, which gives it added ‘sex appeal’. You really need to see this on an IMAX screen to feel the full benefit. As with all the films in the franchise, the action scenes are completely breathtaking, the standout scene is undeniably the moment Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) scales the outside of the Burj Khalifa tower, in Dubai. Which just so happens to be the tallest building in the world. Tom Cruise performed this stunt himself, which just adds to the realism and completely engulfs you in the moment.

The performances all round are great. Tom Cruise is on top form and is leading a new team, which includes Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn). Pegg had a minor part in Mission Impossible 3 but has now been promoted to full-on co-star. Unfortunately, Ving Rhames only has a small cameo in this film, but it’s a nice nod to the fans as he and Cruise are the only cast members to have appeared in all of The Mission Impossible movies. The film has a few little industry in-jokes as well. Ethan Hunt’s code number is “A113”. A113 is a frequent Pixar in-joke based on one of the room numbers for the animation program at Cal Arts. The director has worked for Pixar, and he has worked an “A113” reference into every one of his films. Lost fans are in for a treat, as Josh Holloway (Sawyer) makes a small appearance.



The only thing letting this down is the storyline, it could have been better there is a noticeable dip in certain parts and my attention wandered elsewhere. There were also some errors that I couldn’t overlook, almost too many to list maybe I’m just being a bit too pedantic, but The Nuclear Launch Device used by Hendricks has a Russian keyboard, but the Interface Screen is in English.

All in all, I would say the film is worth watching and will keep you mostly entertained throughout.

.Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is out in the UK on Boxing Day.