All posts by ThatBlairGuy

That Blair Guy has been working in software for longer than he cares to admit. These days he works throughout the software stack from the web UI down to SQL (and sometimes no-SQL), generally on the .Net framework, with frequent excursions to NodeJS, Linux, and PHP.
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Dark Matter – Episode 1 (S1E1)

Dark Matter first appeared on my radar during the run up to Shore Leave 38 when Zoie Palmer (the Android) and Anthony Lemke (Three) were announced as guests. The show’s description, about a spaceship crew waking up with no recollection of their identities struck me as potentially interesting, but it also reminded me of an element from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
In Mostly Harmless – The fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhikers Trilogy, Douglas Adams introduces a race known as “the Grebulons”. Much like the characters in Dark Matter, the Grebulons don’t know who they are, or what their mission might be, so they settle on Rupert (the 10th planet of our solar system) and observe our culture by watching TV.
Unlike the Grebulons however, the Dark Matter characters want to find out who they are. Starting by exploring the ship, and once they learn their original destination, they visit the planet in search of answers, and along the way are attacked, without any known provocation, by the crew of another ship.
It’s an interesting set up, and I’ll probably continue watching.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead Continue reading Dark Matter – Episode 1 (S1E1) →

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The Legend of Tarzan

We saw The Legend of Tarzan on Friday night. Going in, I’m not entirely certain what I was expecting, but in the end, it was two hours well spent.
The familiar, “a baby is raised by apes” story is still there, but it’s done via flashbacks. Instead of an origins story, this movie takes place eight years after Tarzan has left the jungle. Formerly known as “Tarzan”, John Clayton, Earl of Greystoke (Alexander Skarsgård) has married Jane (Margot Robbie) and the two now live in London. When invited by the King of Belgium to visit his protectorate in the Congo, Clayton initially declines, and only reluctantly agrees to go when an American emissary, Doctor George Washington Williams (Samuel L. Jackson) asks for his assistance in investigating his suspicions of slavery. Continue reading The Legend of Tarzan →

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Torchwood: Miracle Day: "The New World"

In what I think is my favorite scene from the episode, Jack’s madly driving a jeep down the beach at full speed while being pursued by a helicopter. Machine gun fire keeps spraying toward the jeep, but Jack outsteers the gunner. When Jack makes a sudden stop, Gwen stands up in the back of the jeep, holding a missile launcher.
Rex looks up from his seat and asks, “Who are you people?!”
Gwen replies with a single word, “Torchwood” and fires the missile. Continue reading Torchwood: Miracle Day: "The New World" →