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Can Downton Abbey Survive Season 4?

downton-abbey

Season 4 of the popular British show has now started, and it is just as good as it ever was.  The writers have brilliantly written off two major characters: Matthew sadly from the end of last season, and a fun little surprise at the beginning of this season, but they use these departures to add interest to the story.  Will Lady Mary be able to snap out of her grief?  Will they able to replace the loss of staff with someone capable (You know the answer to this.  Of course not, they will get someone who is crazy-pants because that is more fun)?  Will the staff be able to figure out who loves whom?  Oh the humanity!  I kid, but it is quite good.

The only real downside so far, is that the Granthams are now firmly the heroes of this story.  Before there was always hints that the show may take a more objective look at the political structure of the day, but it looks like the writers have decided that the aristocracy was the way to go.  They have completely absorbed the freedom loving Tom in to the Grantham household, so that anti-lord viewpoint has been wiped out.  I hope that side of him comes back though because it makes the show more interesting.  The show now wants us to want Downton Abbey and its Lords and Ladies to survive.

This show is all about survival not unlike The Walking Dead, but instead of zombies, it needs to survive the loss of its sons and daughters, and against the oncoming tide of democracy and capitalism.  History says it can’t, but we are rooting for these stuck up Lords to be able to pull it together and fight the odds.  It takes a good set of writers and actors to make millionaires the underdogs against the rise of regular folks, and to have the regular folks watching the TV root for the millionaires, but they continue to pull it off.

Downton Abbey looks to be just as good in its fourth season as it was in its third.  I will be watching and waiting to see if Downton can survive the zombie apocalypse political and social upheaval.  Something tells me that as long as Maggie Smith is on board they will be just fine.

 

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CES 2014 Is Here! So What?

CES2014

January is here, so it is time for another Consumer Electronics Show.  CES used to be an event I looked forward to every year.  Because it used to be the time all the major companies showed their latest crazy gadgets, but for the most part they all do that at their own shows now, so CES seems like it is more of the same every year.  Though I am still keeping an eye on it, so here are my impressions.

More Giant TVs:

If you thought TVs were already huge, then you better look away from CES.  50″ is now the small size with 105″ TVs becoming the show pieces.  The major reason for this size increase is that they need a reason to push the new Ultra HD 4K resolution on us.  With a smaller TV you could never tell the difference, but on a TV 80″ or over you defiantly can.  In five years or so you are going to need a very large wall for your TV set.

Wearable Everything:

Ever since there was rumors that Apple was releasing an iWatch, everybody had to make something to wear.  There are watches, glasses, fitness bracelets, and more.  Just about everybody has a high tech piece of jewelry for you.  Nothing I want or find useful, but it might make you feel more like James Bond.

Steam Boxes:

Valve came out with a new OS built around their popular online store Steam, creatively named SteamOS based on Linux, so this is their year to gain partners to try and get it out there to the public.  They are trying to bill this as a console alternative that plays PC games.  The only problem is that most of the games in their store only run on Windows, so you wouldn’t be able to use them on your Steam Box.  Plus there is no uniform architecture for a Steam box, so it is not any easier on developers to make games for the platform, and it looks like they are going to be way more expensive than the PS4 and Xbox One.  Still it will be an interesting idea to watch, but for now I would just spend the money to beef up your PC and hook it up to your TV.

Dual Booting Android And Windows:

This was one of the more interesting ideas at this year’s show, and it is being pushed by Intel.  The idea is that people want Android tablets, but they still want their Windows apps, so why not dual boot the two.  The problem is that Windows 8 is already kind of confusing in the way that it flips between the desktop and the new Start area, so to now flip again to Android sounds like a mess, but we will see.  If they can make so it is like Parallels for Mac, where your Windows apps can run seamlessly in Android, they may be on to something.

That was pretty much all the major trends from CES 2014.  There was nothing too exciting, but still, I do love new tech.  I just hope CES can find a way to bring back more of the major players from its past, so we can get back to seeing the really good stuff again.

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Can Community Come Back From The Gas Leak Year?

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To the shock of just about everyone, Community is back on NBC.  Last year they kicked out the creator of the show Dan Harmon, so they could make it less weird and more accessible, but all they really did was make it more unwatchable.  This year they brought back Dan, and the show is much better with him.

The writers answer the questions about why the study group would all come back to Greendale after graduating, by showing how woefully Greendale prepared them for life outside its walls.  It also makes some great Scrubs references along the way.  Community has gone back to its roots of showing weird people doing weird things for inexplicable reasons, but it did take on a darker tone.  As I stated before the study group was not ready for post Greendale life, and they paid dearly for trying to venture out in to the world beyond.  This may truly be the darkest timeline, but for now they are back doing what they do best, being a dysfunctional family/study group.

The group has changed, with Peirce being gone, <Spoiler>Jeff is now a teacher</Spoiler>, and the writers preparing to write Troy off the show.  These changes have seemed to work to the show’s benefit for the most part.  I will miss Troy, but he was always just a sounding board for Abed, so I think it will be fine.

Community is still not for everybody, but it never was, so when they changed it up last season, now known as the “Gas Leak” year, they just made it so it was for nobody.  It is back to being a show for a select audience, but at least we few who watch it are now much happier.  If this season is its last (we say that every season), at least it looks like it will be remembered fondly, and not as the less funny “Gas Leak” version.

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Why Can’t We All Get Along?!

console-wars

Image via shirtoid.com, and you can get it on a shirt!

As long as there has been more than one gaming platform, there has always been the argument that one reigns supreme over the others, but instead of discussing it like mature adults, we like to rage against one another on forums.  The sad fact is that now more than ever the platforms are very similar to one another, so all this rage is mostly meaningless.  Why is it that we can’t all just get along?

I think it all comes down to money.  Gaming can be an expensive hobby.  By the time people get the hardware, the peripherals, and the games, you can be several hundred dollars, if not thousands, in the hole.  A person just wants to feel justified in their purchase, so when someone makes a different choice then them it is like they are saying “you were wrong”.  Buying a console or PC is not a test.  There is no wrong answer.  Are you having fun on the platform you purchased? Yes?  Good you made the right choice.  That is all there is too it.  People are reading in to the current console hardware sales, and trying to use them to prove that one console is better than the other, but the console race will last for years to come.

Plus we do not really want a winner.  If there was only one platform, there would be no competition, so games would cost even more, and the lone console would be pretty crappy.  For those of you that are old enough, look what happened to the Atari.  The Atari 2600 came out, and it was the only game in town, so when they made a follow up, the 5200, it was a giant pile of dung.  It was so bad it almost destroyed video games, but luckily the Nintendo Entertainment System saved the day.

The new consoles are all selling well, and there is a resurgence in the PC market due to the rise in indie development.  We as gamers should all be happy about that.  As an Xbox One owner, I want the PS4 to do well, and as a PC owner, I want there to be strength in the console market.  We are all part of the same hobby, and it is something we enjoy greatly, so we should be happy for one another.  Though I am sure we can all agree that mobile gaming is the WORST! 😉

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Futurama Goes Out With A Bang!

Futurama

Netflix finally got the last season of Futurama for streaming, and I of course gobbled it up.  It is hard to see another great show end its run, but this last season was one of the best.  The last episode “Meanwhile” in particular was an excellent way to wrap up the series and say farewell to Fry and Leela.  It was funny and showed real heart and emotion.  Most live action shows can’t do that.

I am now torn since there are rumors that Netflix wants to buy the show and develop more episodes, but it is nice to see Futurama go out on a high note like Breaking Bad, and not limp out of retirement like Arrested Development.  No matter what the future holds for this show, at least season 7B (10 on Netflix) gave the fans everything they loved and wanted plus a little extra.

If you haven’t seen the show, you really should, and you need to give it until the second season because that is when it finds its footing and really takes off.