Did you mean: Missing Doctor Who Episodes

So I check on stats for the site every once in a while. By once in a while, I can be somewhat compulsive over it, really. I am curious to see how many people show up and how they get here. Sometimes it's from the result of a a search term or phrase, like my name, or something I've mentioned here. Yesterday I did a little checking on the search words used recently and found this gem:

star wars missing episodes

Huh. Well, hello there reader - hope you're sticking with it and have a resolute sense of patience at times. Honestly, I'm not sure what you were looking for with that search, but I'll try to help -

George Lucas is a fairly obsessive-compulsive individual and it is rumored that he has every frame of every shot from every movie, every recorded sound clip, outtake, memo, napkin doodling and so on for anything that has to do with the Star Wars franchise from anyone who ever drew a check from Lucasfilm. Thus, to side step here for a moment, his ability to reedit and do new versions of shots with new special effects for the classic trilogy is logical - the claim that it isn't possible to do a nice, clean version of the original trilogy with original special effects with an anamorphic transfer on DVD is bogus.

As a result, it's safe to say that everything to do with the Star Wars movies is safe and sound in a sealed bunker in what I would guess to be a hidden location. Perhaps said bunker would be found on Sullust or Dantooine. This means that things that Lucas would like to be lost (The Star Wars Holiday Special) and things that the fans would like to be lost (Star Wars Episodes I II and III, or at the very least Jar Jar Binks) have not, cannot and will not be casually tossed aside and lost to time due to Lucas' compulsive nature. Fear not, it's all there for you, the fan to discover. Enjoy.

However, I will point out that there are 108 missing episodes of Doctor Who. The search, as always, is on. Fortunately the audio soundtracks to all of them still survive.

Wil Wheaton has discovered Doctor Who

Read all about it here...

I'm stepping out, but rest assured, when I get back I'll be doing my bit to answer his pertinent questions...

Everybody loves Spidey!

Well, almost...you'll see at the very end one very unhappy patrol officer...

For the Shatner fans out there...let's start a rumor!

We're as of today 363 days and counting to the opening of Star Trek. There has been great debate all across our Internets about the casting, the rumored storyline, where it takes place in the canon, and even what the Enterprise herself will look like. We'll get hopefully our first glimpse this January with the teaser trailer that will be attached to Cloverfield. If Paramount is wise and do not wish to have a legion of fanboys marching down Melrose Ave. towards their gates, I would hope that the Enterprise doesn't look too far off from this:

(It's a 23rd Century classic...)

But that simply pales in comparison to the debate over will James T. Kirk appear in the movie. Not the young Chris Pine version that is scripted in the movie, heavens no. What people the world over want to know is, if Leonard Nimoy is set to appear as Spock and is filming his scenes now, why isn't William Shatner in the mix as well? There have been rumblings from the current production team for the movie at the slightest mention of the subject that they'd love to have Shatner in there and would love to figure out a way to do it without it looking like they've shoved the character in arbitrarily, and Shatner himself has been going out of his way to protest that he's not in the movie at any opportunity he gets.

What does this mean in my eyes and without any evidence to support this? It means that William Shatner will indeed be in Star Trek, and it was planned for him to be in it from the beginning. Security on this movie has been ultra tight and precious little details have leaked. So put it out there right now that the Captain, our Captain of the Good Ship Enterprise won't be in the movie at all and get everyone set to accept that we won't be seeing William Shatner at all, but look at all the other exciting and very controlled images and messages we're providing you. Interest is already starting to build for the movie, because it is Star Trek after all provided by one J.J. Abrams. So with the built in fanbases they're going to have a good opening weekend and let's assume that Shatner really is in the movie and they're doing the ultimate misdirection to the fanbase - word of mouth will spread like wildfire and the next weekend when everyone shows up again and brings a new group who want to see Shatner now that they know he's in it as Kirk...oh, it could be a very good follow up weekend.

Now this is all just an educated guess on my part and like I mentioned, no basis in any reality that I'm aware of...but wouldn't it be keen? Kirk and Spock on the big screen again...the originals, one last time.

Works for me...

Happy Holidays!

I have many tombs to raid...

I have an XBOX 360 now. There. I said it in public and I am proud of it. I sold off several items on eBay to several fine homes around the nation and that is how I come to be in possession of a new video game system. As a result, I need to get back in the saddle again for casual gaming because it has been far too long since I powered up my old XBOX.

So I put in Project Gotham 3. Neat and pretty, but I'm not in a racing mood. I put in Star Trek Legacy and long range sensors could not pick up signs of the Vulcan science ship I was seeking. Pass for now. Dead Rising put me face to face with the oncoming zombie horde. We're getting there, but not quite. Splinter Cell Double Agent? Oh...a special game being held for a special time set aside...wait... So what to play?

Tomb Raider.

Specifically, Tomb Raider: Anniversary. Oh, do I have fond memories of the original Tomb Raider. Less so of Tomb Raider II. By Tomb Raider III, I'll admit, I believe I was actually cursing the name due to the insane difficulty. But let's focus on the positive.

Tomb Raider. Oh, yes. The high octane adventures of Lady Lara Croft, archaeologist and adventurer. Since my sister is also an archaeologist, I can only assume that what she does on a daily basis is not unlike this game. That is, exploring jungles, mountainous regions, and lost underwater civilizations while fighting off wild animals and other human threats. She always claims that this is not the case, but I firmly believe otherwise. Much adventure is to be had in the employ of the State of Oregon.

But I digress.

Tomb Raider. Oh, yes. I played it to death on my old PS1 - one of the titles that made that system what it was in the day and in this version, it's an update of the original game for modern systems. So from what I've played so far, everything you love about the original game is present in the new 10th anniversary edition: the action, the huge levels, the puzzles, the variety of movements Lara has within the game engine, and so on. It's really as fun to play now as it was then. Unfortunately, everything you hate about the original game is also present in the new version: The semi-wonky camera, miserable controls for swimming, annoying collision detection at times, and so on. Fortunately, the game play really does make up for it and you do grit your teeth slightly and soldier on and it starts to matter less and less.

I also read this little article as well that Eidos will be using the current Tomb Raider engine for Deus Ex 3. That's just splendid. Especially hearing that they will be making improvements to the engine. Because that brings me to my next issue with this game...and it's a biggie. The game engine. Oh, yes, it's improved obviously since the PS1 days. No doubt about that. It's miles away from where it started. The problem is that it's also a bit back from where the competition lies as far as graphical prowess. Don't get me wrong...the environments look fantastic. But the characters themselves don't look as good as I feel they can. Lara's model excepted of course. Still some things like hair and so on look a bit cartoony next to the way the engine renders the world itself.

Tomb Raider started out as a top drawer, A-List game and got a very well deserved reputation for quality...one that quickly started to swirl down the drain with the sequels after the the third installment. From what I've played so far, and from what I've heard about Tomb Raider: Legend, Eidos is well on the way to mending the reputation of the series. But what I'd really like to see is a Tomb Raider game engine that can stand tall with its peers like the Unreal Engine used in a wide variety of games and is put to great use in the Splinter Cell series. Do a Tomb Raider with the amazing look of Splinter Cell's character models with the classic Tomb Raider gameplay with some fixed controls and camera angles and movement and they could bring this game series up to the next generation standards.

But right now it doesn't matter. I'm playing a classic Tomb Raider game and still loving it. I'd just love it that much more if they really polished it up to rival the competition and not feel chained to the look of the game from the past. But right now, Lady Croft is exploring caves in Peru wearing shorts and a tank top with nothing but two pistols to protect herself with and that means I've got some levels to finish...