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THE MOVIES, TV & GAMES MAGAZINE FOR GEEKS

GAME OF
THRONES
4D MAPS » W W W. G E E K Y M O N K E Y.T V » £4.50 » ISSUE 18 » MARCH 2017

RETRO
TIME
MACHINE
BACK TO
1982
» REWATCHING THE 1979
“I HAD A LOT CLASSIC WITH SWAN

10
OF FIGHT
TRAINING FOR
ALL THOSE LITTLE
MARVEL MOVIES”
SCARLETT JOHANSSON ON…

GHOST IN
THE SHELL
7
REASONS TO
BITCH ABOUT…
NINTENDO
SWITCH
THE AGES OF

DOCTOR
WHO
» THE RISE, FALL & REGENERATION OF A TIMELORD
18

9 772059 221019

» I WAS IN STAR WARS TOO » TOP STREAMING TV » TARKIN INTERVIEW » REPLAYING PONG
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 IN CINEMAS MARCH 31
GITS_GeekyMonkey_Page.indd 1 31/01/2017 12:56
 CONTENTS

32

62

106 30 110

WHAT’S NEW? WHAT’S RETRO?

32 GHOST IN THE SHELL 6 THE 7 AGES OF DOCTOR WHO
 he live action movie hits cinemas this month,
T  e explore the rise, fall and regeneration of The
W
 we chat with star Scarlett Johansson.  Doctor, and look forward to number 13!
50 NINTENDO SWITCH 30 TIME MACHINE – 1982
 ocial media feeds are buzzing with bitching
S  new section – this month we take you back in
A
about Nintendo’s new console – why? time to the days of the ZX Spectrum and Tiswas.
58 GWENPOOL COSPLAY 44 RETRO TOY: COMPUTER TENNIS
 iving Spider-Man a run for his money, it’s
G  efore Atari took over the games industry, there
B
Marvel’s Gwenpool in cosplay fun. were these cool Pong boxes we all loved.
60 DON’T MISS 47 I WAS IN STAR WARS TOO
 ur top pick of the best movies, games and TV
O  e celebrate the actors behind the mask,
W
shows to geek out to this month. starting with Senator Meena Tills.
68 BECAUSE JAPAN 90 90’S LOST COMIC BOOK MOVIES
 samu Tezuka’s Metropolis gets a shiny new
O  he decade when Hollywood fell in love with
T
 release from Eureka Video.  comic books, sit back with some popcorn.
88 TOP GEAR 110 RETRO TV: SLIDERS
 heck out the sexy tech that is on our geeky
C  eeky sci-fi TV from Fox that may have passed
G
wish list, including a Darth Vader toaster! you by. Let’s get sliding!
98 TABLETOP 104 RETRO GAME: GTA SAN ANDREAS
 he best new board games on the block, this
T  an you believe Rockstar’s blockbuster is 13
C
month Turtles and Lord of the Rings. years old already? We ride the BMX again.
106 GRAND MOFF TARKIN INTERVIEW 110 THE WARRIORS INTERVIEW
 ctor Guy Henry chats to Geeky Monkey about
A  ith the cast of The Warriors coming to the UK,
W
bringing Peter Cushing back to life. we chat with star Michael Beck.

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 90

FRONTLINE PREVIEWS & REVIEWS

20 IN BRIEF 42 READING MATTERS
 Sneaky pieces of geeky news Top sci-fi and fantasy reads
21 FOUR OF THE BEST 46 COMIC CRITIQUE
 Celebrating John Hurt’s sci-fi career Hot releases from the big publishers
22 MAP OF GEEK 74 REVIEWS
 Taking the Geeky Metro around the UK New books, films, games and more
24 JABBERTALKY 84 STEAM & APPS
 Is the horror genre tired? A Star Wars game for your mobile
26 FIGHTING TALK
 Which is best? Star Wars or Star Trek? Fight! BINGEBOX: STREAMING TV
Our recommendations of the best streaming TV…
EYE CANDY
SUBSCRIBE NOW! 66 DRAMA/FANTASY
Turn to page 48 for details 54 MARS ATTACKS! Sherlock set tongues wagging last month
We come in peace Jim 66 SCIENCE FICTION
New Netflix sci-fi to binge-watch
GEEKY COLLECTABLES 67 SUPER HEROES
Some in capes, some without, all great TV
72 GET THIS 68 HORROR
I came here to drink milk and kick ass Shows to watch with the lights on (or off?)
88 TOP GEAR
Cool things are either black or grey INTERVIEWS
102 GEEK CHIC
Let us dress you 16 TERRY MOLLOY
Davros gives his opinion on The Doctor
38 SCARLETT JOHANSSON
She is a robot, we think
106 GUY HENRY
The man you will never see in Rogue One
110 MICHAEL BECK
Exclusive chat with Swan from The Warriors

4 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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 CONTRIBUTORS

JEM ROBERTS CL AIRE LIM

Jem is an author, storyteller, comedy Music PR by day and mega geek at all
historian, performer and magazine man, other times, Claire has a penchant for
with official books on Blackadder and anything comic books, robots, space
Douglas Adams. and super heroes.

CHRIS HALL AM
An oversized, bearded, lumbering figure,
freelance writer Chris has produced half
MARK NEWBOLD
Mark is a Star Wars journalist. When he’s
not talking or writing about Star Wars he
A SPRING CLEAN…
a dozen books and tons of features and can be found sleeping, where he’ll
reviews in the last decade. probably be dreaming about Star Wars.
Spring is just around the corner, so what better time for a bit
of a Spring clean of Geeky Monkey? You’ve hopefully already
noticed we’ve had a logo change on the cover, and to go with
it we’ve taken your feedback and retuned our content to
ensure we continue to be the best geeky read on the
newsstands. At our core we’re a movies, TV and games
magazine for geeks – and we love all those classics from
JOHN HOULIHAN MICHAEL CAMPBELL yesteryear, so you’ll find a good dollop of retro content in
Writer, game designer, sci-fi, fantasy Film enthusiast, horror hound, beard these hallowed pages.
and horror lover, author of the Seraph aficionado. Comic book junkie Michael is
books and ex-boss of CVG – it’s His also an experienced professional
This issue we take a trip back through time with Doctor
Houliness Mr Houlihan. wrestling journalist. Who, charting the seven ages the show has enjoyed and
endured, and chatting with Davros himself. Flip the
magazine over and you’ll find our tribute cover to The
Warriors – the 1979 New York gang movie that has its own
event happening in Birmingham soon. We got to rewatch the
movie with Swan, aka Michael Beck.
Want something new? How about a Time Machine where
SEBASTIAN WILLIAMSON ROB BURMAN we take you back to 1982 – Corona pop, Tiswas and lots of
While most people would turn away Determined to get his family to play
from a dark alleyway or eerie forest, something other than Cluedo at
great TV. Talking of TV – we’ve picked out the best in
Sebastian goes skipping on ahead with a Christmas, Rob is on a constant hunt to streaming TV shows for drama/fantasy, sci-fi, super heroes
thirst for horror. Weirdo. discover great board games.
and horror in our new BingeBox section on page 66.
Remember – if you want to guarantee your copy of
Geeky Monkey is waiting for you at your favourite newsagent
– just ask them to order one in for you, or you can subscribe
and have us delivered direct to your door each month – you
don’t even have to get up, our team of crack journalists will
read each page aloud to you*.
RYAN LESTON JONATHAN CLEMENTS
Film Journalist and geek, Ryan is Jonathan Clements’ latest book is
Let me know if you like the changes (and if you don’t) at
obsessed with Star Wars and loves Christ’s Samurai: The True Story of the [email protected]. Enjoy!
quirky TV shows. He still hasn’t forgiven Shimabara Rebellion, all about teenage
Damon Lindelof for the ending to Lost. sorcerers. Because… Japan.

facebook.com/geekymonkeymag
twitter.com/thegeekymonkey
search “Geeky Monkey” on SoundCloud NICK ROBERTS
www.geekymonkey.tv EDITOR-IN-CHIEF *Not actually true.

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 6 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_006-018_DoctorWho.indd 6 08/02/2017 20:14

 THE 7 AGES OF
DOCTOR
WHO
53 YEARS. 35 SERIES. 827 EPISODES. 12 DOCTORS.
DOCTOR WHO IS A PHENOMENON WITHOUT EQUAL
IN TV OR SCI-FI. YET WITH SERIES TEN AND A NEW
DOCTOR ON THE WAY, FOLLOWING NEWS OF THE
DEPARTURE OF PETER CAPALDI, IS IT STILL POSSIBLE
TO PUT THE SHOW INTO SOME SORT OF PERSPECTIVE?
OR IS IT DOOMED LIKE THE TARDIS TO FOREVER
ESCAPE OUR COMPREHENSION?

Words: CHRIS HALLAM

Would like to be a lord of time.

D
octor Who is like nothing else on Earth. In the UK, it
remains the eighth longest running series of all time,
rubbing shoulders with the likes of Coronation Street, The
Sky At Night and Blue Peter. It is one of only a dozen or so
programmes still showing to be old enough to have once
been in black and white.
But in the realm of science fiction it is truly a world beater. Nothing
else comes close to it in terms of longevity. Not Stargate, not Red Dwarf,
not even Star Trek. Even if you collect all the different Star Trek series
together and add them up (already an unfair comparison I would argue)
then Doctor Who still wins, in terms of both episodes and the span of
time it’s been on. So if you think watching The OA on Netflix was a bit of
a long haul recently, this should hopefully put things into perspective.
It’s as if The OA was still on in 2069.
Science fiction isn’t really supposed to be like this, of course.
Although in theory it should be more timeless than other genres,
somehow it rarely seems to work out that way. It’s hard to imagine
Blake’s 7 lasting into the 21st century, for example, or Lost In Space even
lasting into the Eighties. Most science fiction reflects its own times very
strongly. Doctor Who owes its survival to a formula which ensures it can
survive an ever-changing cast, its success in reviving itself after a
sixteen-year hiatus and its evolution over the decades.
The history of the Doctor Who series can be divided into seven
distinct ages…
©BBC

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 DOCTOR AT LARGE
One thing that might have made the idea of William Hartnell turning
into Patrick Troughton a bit easier to swallow was the fact that many
viewers had already seen The Doctor played by someone other
than Hartnell already. Veteran actor and future Rogue One star
Peter Cushing had played The Doctor twice in the films Dr. Who and
the Daleks (1965) and Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966) both
directed by Gordon Flemyng (father of the actor Jason Flemyng).
Unsurprisingly, neither of these films is quite the same as the series.
Despite his horror background, Cushing is a more good-natured
Doctor than Hartnell in films which seem very specifically aimed
at children. Roy Castle and future 21st century series star Bernard
CribbIns provide comic relief, while the titles for both films suggest an
attempt to capitalise on the early Daleks craze. Neither are bad films,
but after the second (probably superior) film earned less at the box
office than the first, no more Doctor Who films were made. Today, the
two present an interesting curiosity as well as the earliest example of
Doctor Who in colour.

THE FIRST AGE: GENESIS

[1963-1970]

Star Trek had Gene Roddenberry. Star Wars had George Lucas. Harry develop it further. The Doctor himself, for example, was initially
Potter, J.K. Rowling. But there is no equivalent figure for the creation of described as, “A frail old man lost in space and time. They give him the
Doctor Who. The series emerged partly from a desire to fill the gap in name because they don’t know who he is… he is searching for something
BBC schedules on Saturday evenings, bridging the void between the as well as fleeing from something. He has a ‘machine’ which enables
end of Grandstand and the start of the then popular Juke Box Jury. But them to travel through time, through space and through matter.”
there was much more to it than that. Doctor Who also formed the A second key factor was the creation of the Daleks. Their immense
culmination of a collective effort to provide an ambitious new science popularity from their first appearance in 1963 ensured the series a place
fiction programme for the channel, following in the footsteps of Nigel in the national psyche. The Doctor’s battles with the Daleks also enabled
Kneale’s Quatermass series of the 1950s and other experimental shows his character and the series to develop in unforeseen ways.
like A For Andromeda (1961). The new series would be more ambitious Another essential element was the introduction of the Doctor’s
and longer running than either. ever-changing companions – several, at first, but generally only one at a
A group effort it may have been, but certain individuals certainly time from the 1970s onwards – which kept the format fresh.
deserve credit for Doctor Who, notably the Head of TV Drama Sydney But crucially it was The Doctor’s ability to occasionally renew
Newman, described by author James Chapman as, “the most himself (the term ‘regeneration’ was not used initially) which enabled
important single figure in the history of the golden age of television in the series to survive Hartnell’s decision to retire on health grounds in
Britain.” Another was producer Verity Lambert who was keen to 1966. “This old body of mine is wearing a bit thin,” Hartnell’s Doctor
ensure that Doctor Who would be more than just a kids’ show from uttered shortly before collapsing onto the floor of the TARDIS and
the start. It was Lambert who chose William Hartnell, the star of the beginning a dramatic transformation. Sadly, as with many other
first Carry On film Carry On Sergeant and a familiar figure from TV episodes from the period, the actual episode has been wiped by the BBC.
sitcom The Army Game as The Doctor. The first episode was broadcast, Thankfully, this crucial sequence has survived, however.
coincidentally, on the day after President Kennedy’s assassination in The younger Patrick Troughton brought humour to the role and was
November 1963. clearly a very different figure from his predecessor. Indeed, Newman
To a modern viewer, only the title, the basic theme tune, the characterised the Second Doctor as a ‘cosmic hobo’. The Troughton era
TARDIS and the presence of a character named ‘The Doctor’ would link would be characterised by a more diverse range of monsters (including
the first episode to the current series in any way. the Cybermen, Yeti and Warriors). But it was the idea of regeneration –
Four basic factors partly explain why Doctor Who has endured for initially conceived as a stop gap measure to deal with a series crisis –
so long. For one thing, the original creators were ingenious to leave the which ensured that the show could still survive when an overworked
©BRITISH LION / ©BBC

basic premise vague enough to allow future writers plenty of leeway to Troughton himself gave way to Jon Pertwee in 1970.

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 L I ST E N TO
“THE SERIES EMERGED PARTLY FROM
A DESIRE TO FILL THE GAP IN BBC
SCHEDULES ON SATURDAY EVENINGS”

The Cybermen in a typical early monochrome

Doctor Who scene. The series is one of only a
dozen or so British shows from the black and
white era which are still on our screens.

THE
SECOND
D O C TO R
AT B I G F I N I S H

W W W. B I G F I N I S H . C O M
@BIGFINISH
Renowned before and after his time as the
Second Doctor as a serious actor, Patrick
Troughton brought more humour to The Doctor
THEBIGFINISH
than most. Jon Pertwee, ironically, a known
comedy actor, in contrast, chose to play the role
much straighter when he took over in 1970.
BBC, DOCTOR WHO (word marks, logos and devices), TARDIS
and DALEKS (word marks and devices) are trade marks of the
British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence.
BBC logo © BBC 1996.wDoctor
w w.geeky mon
Who logo key.tv
© BBC 2009. 9

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 THE SECOND AGE: THE GOLDEN ERA
[1970-1980]

The 1970s was ultimately to prove to be the heyday of Doctor Who. The eyebrows at first. In time, he would become the most enduring, the
year 1970 itself indeed saw many crucial changes. most popular and the most internationally recognised Doctor Who.
First, there was the new Doctor himself. Although traditionally His seven-year tenure (1974-81) witnessed a classic era for the series.
associated with comedic roles up until that point (he had starred in It is unusual for a series in its sixteenth year to be at its peak,
radio’s The Navy Lark and came very close to being cast as Captain indeed statistically after 16 years most TV programmes are not only
Mainwaring in Dad’s Army), Jon Pertwee took a decision early on to finished but long forgotten. This success was despite a campaign by
play the Doctor straight, distinguishing himself from Patrick self-appointed outraged TV activist Mary Whitehouse against what
Troughton’s more comedic approach immediately. she wrongly thought was a children’s show, “Strangulation – by
There were other changes. Pertwee was to be the first Doctor to hand, by claw, by obscene vegetable matter – is the latest gimmick,
have only one companion at a time: Katy Manning followed by sufficiently close up so they get the point. And just for a little variety
Elisabeth Sladen. The series would also be broadcast in colour for the show the children how to make a Molotov Cocktail.” This was not
first time. Watch With Mother, Mary.
Finally, and crucially, following the Second Doctor’s trial by the Maybe partly due to the publicity Mary’s ranting created (Alice
Time Lords, Pertwee’s Doctor spent much of his entire tenure in the Cooper once sent her a bunch of flowers as a thank you for getting his
TARDIS banished to exile on 20th century Earth as punishment for his hit ‘School’s Out’ banned from Top of the Pops – it went straight to
violation of non-intervention laws. This is often cynically seen as a number one) ratings were generally as high as nine to eleven million
budgetary measure by the BBC. In fact, budgets rose for the series per episode, peaking at 16.1 million for the final episode of City of
under Pertwee, and he got himself a remote controlled car with the Death in 1979. Admittedly, this was during a strike which had shut
number plate “WHO1”. Despite concerns that the Earth-bound setting down production at ITV, but even so, this remains an all-time high
might make the series resemble a 1970s version of Quatermass, the for Doctor Who. Critically, the show was also doing well due to the
Pertwee Era (1970-74) is generally remembered with affection by fans. contribution of talented young writers like Douglas Adams. Doctor
Then came Tom Baker. The most eccentric of the Doctors, Baker’s Who was on a high.
relative youth and bohemian eternal student appearance raised Clearly, the only way was down.

9 MEMORABLE [FIRST SEEN: THE DALEKS, 1963] [FIRST SEEN: THE TENTH PLANET, 1966]
DALEKS CYBERMEN
MONSTERS
THE DOCTOR HAS COME UP
AGAINST SOME INCREDIBLE
ADVERSARIES IN HIS 54 YEARS ON
THE BOX. HERE ARE THE ONES THAT
KEPT THE GEEKY MONKEY TEAM
AWAKE AT NIGHT…

In the Sixties, Doctor Who episodes were broadcast as It was three years before the other big recurring menace
serials of multiple episodes. The second one to hit screens would trouble The Doctor – the Cybermen showed up in
was The Daleks written by Terry Nation, starring William the fourth series serial The Tenth Planet. It’s one of those
Hartnell as the First Doctor and set on an alien planet. erased by the BBC and since reconstructed in animation.
©BBC

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 L I ST E N TO

Tom Baker was joined by

many companions, notably
Adric and Romana (Matthew
Waterhouse and Lalla Ward
pictured with Baker below) as
well as the popular robotic dog
K9 (pictured with Lalla Ward
left). A spin-off show K-9 And
Company (1981) only lasted
one episode.

THE
FOURTH
D O C TO R
AT B I G F I N I S H

[FIRST SEEN: INFERNO, 1970] [FIRST SEEN: THE CLAWS OF AXOS, 1971]
PRIMORDS AXOS

W W W. B I G F I N I S H . C O M
@BIGFINISH
Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor came up against the Primords in The Third Doctor had his work cut out again in The Claws
1970’s Inferno. They were workers at a gas drilling project of Axos as these scavenger creatures arrived on Earth,
THEBIGFINISH
that became exposed to toxic green slime, mutating them supposedly searching for fuel but actually after the secret
into subhuman primordial creatures! behind time travel. They returned again in later stories.

BBC, DOCTOR WHO (word marks, logos and devices), TARDIS

and DALEKS (word marks and devices) are trade marks of the
British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence.
BBC logo © BBC 1996.wDoctor
w w.geeky mon
Who logo key.tv
© BBC 2009. 1 1

GM#18_006-018_DoctorWho.indd 11 08/02/2017 20:16

 “DAVISON
(NOW FATHER-
IN-LAW TO
THE TENTH
DOCTOR DAVID
TENNANT) IS
REMEMBERED
FONDLY”

THE THIRD AGE: FALLING SLOWLY

[1980-1984]

At just 30, Peter Davison was already a likeable and familiar face to
audiences having appeared in All Creatures Great and Small, amongst
other things, and cameoing as the Dish of the Day in the 1982 TV version
of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy during his time as The Doctor.
He nevertheless had a tough act to follow. The scripts reflect this
insecurity; for example, on spying his new reflection The Doctor muses,
“Well, I suppose I’ll get used to it in time.”
It is sad then, that the Davison era is associated with the beginning
of a steep ratings decline which ultimately ended in Doctor Who’s
cancellation in 1989. This probably wasn’t Davison’s fault. Viewing
figures had actually began to fall during Tom Baker’s last year, perhaps
in response to radical changes introduced by flamboyant new producer
John Nathan-Turner after 1980. These included a new heavily synthesized
version of the familiar theme tune, new stylised costumes for the
Doctors and updated filming techniques.
Fans generally welcomed the changes and Nathan-Turner was
arguably only combatting an inevitable post-Star Wars decline for
the series anyway; both production budgets and expectations had
suddenly risen dramatically. But whatever the truth: ratings did fall.
Davison’s first series averaged only 5.8 million viewers with one
episode dropping to 3.7 million: an all-time low for any Doctor Who
episode up until that point.
Although in general Davison (now father-in-law to the Tenth
Doctor David Tennant) is remembered fondly.

[FIRST SEEN: THE ARK IN SPACE, 1975] [FIRST SEEN: GENESIS OF THE DALEKS, 1975] [FIRST SEEN: THE VISITATION, 1982]
WIRRN DAVROS TERILEPTIL

You’ve got to love the 1970s Doctor Who monsters that Originally the head of the Kaled Scientific Elite from the It’s not often you find a space reptile who has a love for
for the most part were actors in sprayed duvets, the Wirrn planet Skaro, Davros created the Daleks in an attempt to art and beauty along with a love for war, but that’s what
were human-sized insects that battled Tom Baker’s Fourth bring war to an end, only it didn’t work out that way. He Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor wound up with in 1982’s The
Doctor. Luckily, one of them could speak English! has kept himself alive by siphoning energy from Daleks. Visitation. They were humanoid fish-like creatures.
©BBC

12 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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 L I ST E N TO
Sylvester McCoy, the Seventh Doctor,
alongside Ace (Sophie Aldred), one of
the most popular companions. McCoy
brought a surprising gravitas to the
role after initial concerns his version
of The Doctor would be too comedic.

THE FOURTH AGE: DECLINE & FALL

[1984-1989]

Who killed Doctor Who? On the face of it, Michael (Lord) Grade, the
former head of BBC programming has often been happy to play the role
of the biggest bogeyman in this story.
“The show was ghastly. It was pathetic,” he has said. “It just got
more and more violent… it was just horrible to watch. It lost its way… I
cancelled it. It was absolutely the right decision at the time.”
Grade indeed is right to take responsibility for the ultimate
decision to pull the plug. But even ignoring his hostility to this sci-fi
stalwart, there were other factors too. Ratings were now typically as
low as four or five million and the show was becoming overly self-
referential, appealing to its hardcore fans but alienating everyone else.
Attempts to attract publicity through unusual casting decisions such
as Richard Briers and Alexei Sayle did not always help.
History has not been kind to the Sixth Doctor and in truth Colin
Baker was dealt a rotten hand during his stint between 1984 and 1986,
with most of this time spent in a period of enforced 18-month hiatus
imposed by Grade. Baker’s spell as the Doctor ended acrimoniously, with
the effect that the now traditional regeneration sequence had to be
filmed without him.
Always vulnerable to the charge of being “just a children’s
programme,” some scepticism met news of the appointment of
Sylvester McCoy, an actor then primarily known for roles on kids’ TV
(such as the wacky science programme Eureka!) to succeed Colin
Baker. In truth, McCoy soon warmed to the role, helped (after a brief
unhappy pairing with scream queen Bonnie Langford) by an especially
able companion Ace (real name Dorothy) played by Sophie Aldred who
had, “been written with a greater sensitivity and subtlety than had
usually been afforded by the role of companion,” according to James
Chapman in his book Inside The TARDIS: The Worlds of Doctor Who. As
Aldred’s confidence grew, Chapman argues, her initially tomboyish

THE
character was allowed to grow and develop in ways previously unseen
in a Doctor’s companion.
But it was not enough. Chapman also argues that by the end the

EIGHTH
BBC had lost interest in the show to the extent that they deliberately
scheduled it in slots where it was “doomed to fail,” making its cancellation
in 1989 inevitable.
Ultimately, the real question should not be who killed Doctor Who,
but why it endured for an impressive 26 years in the first place.
And even after cancellation, it never really went away.
D O C TO R
AT B I G F I N I S H

[FIRST SEEN: THE END OF THE WORLD, 2005] [FIRST SEEN: THE HUSBANDS OF RIVER SONG, 2015]
MOXX OF BALHOON HYDROFLAX

W W W. B I G F I N I S H . C O M
@BIGFINISH
An ugly little blighter, the Moxx of Balhoon isn’t a monster Bringing us up to Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor, His
at all, but actually a solicitor representing the company Infinite Majesty King Hydroflax of the Final Cluster is part
THEBIGFINISH
Jolco and Jolco at the destruction of Earth in the year five human, part cyborg. He ate his enemies after battling,
billion. He was fried when the sun’s filters were lowered. whether they were dead or alive.

BBC, DOCTOR WHO (word marks, logos and devices), TARDIS

and DALEKS (word marks and devices) are trade marks of the
British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence.
BBC logo © BBC 1996.wDoctor
w w.geeky mon
Who logo key.tv
© BBC 2009. 1 3

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 BUILDING A COLLECTION
Sci-fi fans have been collecting Doctor Who almost since the
invention of the recording device. BBC Records was launched in 1967
to release sound effects and theme songs from BBC programmes, and
Doctor Who has been a constant for the BBC ever since.

[1973: RECORDS & TAPES]

PLANET OF THE DALEKS

Part six of the Third Doctor’s

adventure aired on 12 May 1973 and
had a single record release of the
music. The story was also released
on cassette and CD.

[1984: VHS VIDEO]

ANDROIDS OF TARA

The advent of the VHS video

recorder created BBC Video in 1980
and episodes of William Hartnell,
Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker’s
Doctor’s were eventually released.

[1999: DVD]
DVD COMPILATIONS

BBC DVD started releasing Doctor

Who compilation discs in 1999 to
test the DVD market. There are now
over 168 DVDs and 37 box sets, and
that’s just the British releases.

[1999: AUDIO DRAMA]

BIG FINISH

Classic Who characters and stories

THE FIFTH AGE: LIMBO
[1989-2005]
have been kept alive for over 20
years by Big Finish Productions.
The dramas are available on CD or
download at bigfinish.com. Years passed. Speculation about whether the series might yet return
continued throughout the Nineties. The series’ cult following never
[2009: BLU-RAY] went away and was reflected in the continuing fanzines and by sales
THE HD AGE of Doctor Who novels and magazines. But it was 1996 before a new
Doctor Who came along, and when it did it came in the form of what
From humble mono, black and
turned out to be a one-off TV movie.
white recordings to 5.1 surround
By many usual criteria, the movie entitled simply ‘Doctor Who’
sound and 1080p pictures, Doctor
Who has come a long way. The was a success. Around nine million UK viewers watched it, certainly
latest blu-ray box sets are a treat! enough to suggest there was an audience for the new Doctor. Much of
the critical feedback was positive. Certainly, most seemed happy
with the choice of the new Doctor: Paul McGann best known for his
role in the cult comedy Withnail and I (1987) and the BBC First World
War drama The Monocled Mutineer. The result of an audition process
which had apparently included everyone from Mark McGann (Paul’s
brother, one of an acting dynasty), Tony Slattery, Michael Crawford
and John Sessions, McGann’s Doctor was styled as, “a Romantic hero
in the mould of Percy Bysshe Shelley,” by writer James Chapman and
was described as “the best” and “the sexiest Doctor ever” by others.
Probably the main failing of the TV movie, however, was with US
audiences. Despite a US setting and the casting of American actors like
Eric (brother of Julia) Roberts, the movie underperformed in the US
and this ultimately ensured it would not continue as a series. Some
have attributed this to poor scheduling choices – the film was put up
against the final episode of long running US series Roseanne. But in
fact, it was more likely to have been let down by a simple fact: Doctor
Who had never been on network TV in the US and so most American
viewers were unfamiliar with the character, series and the concept.
©BBC / ©BIG FINISH PRODUCTIONS

It would take another later version of the show to slowly establish

a foothold amongst US audiences. And it would need to establish itself
in the UK first.

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 THE SIXTH AGE: THE RETURN
L I ST E N TO
[2005-2010]

Apparently, it isn’t possible to please all of the people all of the time.
Well, maybe that’s true, but the 21st century revival of Doctor Who
certainly came damn close. By delivering a new Doctor Who imbued
with the all the production values the show deserved, the comeback
pleased core fans, critics and newcomers alike.
Partly this was down to excellent casting. Although he only chose
to play The Doctor for one series, Christopher Eccleston was one of the
best known actors to have ever played the Timelord, with a career
encompassing memorable roles in TV dramas like Our Friends In The
North and Russell T. Davies’s Second Coming, to film roles in Danny
Boyle’s debut Shallow Grave to Gone in Sixty Seconds. He was ably
assisted by ex-pop star Billie Piper in the role of Rose Tyler, one of the
most popular companions ever.
Although much less well known on his appointment, David
Tennant, star of Russell T. Davies’s Casanova, soon blossomed in the role
of The Doctor, his performance developing from a rather uneven one in
his early days in the TARDIS. By the time he left the series in 2010,
Tennant was rivalling Tom Baker for the position of most popular Doctor
Who ever.
For to visit the Doctor Who of a decade ago is to see the show at an
all-time high. Ratings for the 2007 ‘Voyage of the Damned’ Christmas
Special starring Kylie Minogue, for example, were almost higher than
they had ever been, over 13 million. The show had furthermore spawned
two successful spin-offs the more grown up Torchwood and The Sarah
Jane Adventures. Things had never been better.

“BY THE TIME HE LEFT THE SERIES

IN 2010, TENNANT WAS RIVALLING
TOM BAKER FOR THE POSITION OF
MOST POPULAR DOCTOR WHO”

THE
TENTH
D O C TO R
AT B I G F I N I S H

W W W. B I G F I N I S H . C O M
@BIGFINISH
THEBIGFINISH

BBC, DOCTOR WHO (word marks, logos and devices), TARDIS

and DALEKS (word marks and devices) are trade marks of the
British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence.
BBC logo © BBC 1996.wDoctor
w w.geeky mon
Who logo key.tv
© BBC 2009. 1 5

GM#18_006-018_DoctorWho.indd 15 08/02/2017 20:17

 Terry Molloy
ACTOR, DAVROS IN DOCTOR WHO

Best known for being the third actor to portray Davros, Terry Molloy first appeared in Resurrection of the
Daleks in 1984, returning in Revelation of the Daleks in 1985 and finally in Remembrance of the Daleks in 1988.
Molloy returned to the role for a number of Big Finish audio dramas and 2005 saw The Trial of Davros hit the
stage with Molloy in the central role. Geeky Monkey caught up with Terry at the 23rd SF Ball in Southampton.

Why do you think Doctor Who has survived

over the years, despite the well-documented
“SOMEBODY ASKED ME an odd time, I wasn’t aware of the politics, I just
knew that it had finished, which I thought was
ebbs and flows? WHO I THOUGHT THE sad for the fans. Fans always talk about hiding
Because it had a great innocence to it. It had NEXT DOCTOR SHOULD behind the sofa with The Doctor, you have The
very good writers writing stories, and the whole Doctor to keep you safe, and a whole generation
essence of drama is storytelling. You get a good BE AND I SAID FOR ONE had no Doctor. Now they’ve got The Doctor back
story and no matter what you throw at it, it’s still SEASON ONLY, BRIAN again. You always say, “Who’s your favourite
going to be a good story. If it’s a bad story it will Doctor,” it’s often the one they first met and hid
still be a bad story even when you’ve covered it BLESSED FOLLOWED BY behind the sofa with. There’s a generation that
in special effects. Also, The Doctor is this cosmic MIRIAM MARGOYLES. slips between the old and the new series.
hobo, this wanderer, which is something people
can identify with. He’s on a journey and we join
YOU WON’T NOTICE What do you think of the new iterations of
him on that journey. We want to know where THE DIFFERENCE” The Doctor?
he’s going to go next, what’s going to happen I love them, they’re good. I remember
next? Is he going to fail? Because there’s always Colin Baker saying when Peter Capaldi was
that possibility that one day he’s going to fail. announced, “Oh, it’s so nice to have a Doctor
over the age of 12 again,” but he said it with
In your role as Davros you had to follow great love because he loved David and Matt.
Michael Wisher and David Gooderson. From Somebody asked me who I thought the next
their performances, what did you bring to Doctor should be and I said for one season only,
yours, and what did you add to what they’d very well you tend to find that you’re actually Brian Blessed followed by Miriam Margoyles.
done before? talking louder than most people would expect You won’t notice the difference, just run one into
Initially the voice. Looking at the tapes and you to because you can’t hear and you don’t the other. I’m not sure that Peter’s had quite the
knowing the limitations of the mask in terms know if its coming through. You dial it right up. stories that he deserved. Certainly the one with
of what you can do physically with it, the That’s how the character comes out. young Davros I thought was extremely good.
voice had to do all. That was the base starting
point, but getting away from the shouting and It seemed that those characters had a You’ve played the role on TV, on the stage
screaming into a more studied ability to look at Batman-Joker kind of relationship, the dark and in the Big Finish audio books. Of all those
what The Doctor and he were doing. Certainly, side of each other. separate tales, which version had the most
in Revelation where we brought in elements of Yeah, I’ve always thought that Davros was the intriguing stories and which provided the
humour where Davros talks about not telling the darkside of The Doctor and conversely the other most interesting concepts?
relatives of the dead people he was feeding them way round. Davros does say at some point, For me Big Finish because on radio you can do
to the universe because it would create what is “You’re the closest thing I’ve got to a friend.” things you can never do on telly. They’ve just
termed ‘consumer resistance’. They were on the same intellectual level. They started to do this with young Davros. We did
knew they were both alone. They kind of needed a mini-series called ‘I, Davros’ and there were
How constricting or conversely how freeing each other. What would happen if either of them no Daleks in it except right at the very end. You
was it to be in the Davros mask? went, I don’t know. It would be like unbalancing saw Davros from a 15 year old boy right up to the
It actually informed how the voice happened the universe of chaos and stasis. creation of the first Dalek. The very final lines
because you had to move your mouth in a very of the whole series are the Dalek saying, “I am
exaggerated way to get any movement on the You’ve mentioned why Doctor Who works, the alive.” You’ve had that moment, how he’d gone
outside, so you already got this staccato voice, elements that make it what it is. Why do you from man to monster. Nevermind the physical
and being in it, believe me you got sick of it. The think that for a time it lost its way? monster, the emotional monster. It’s always
anger was already in there, it was rising and it They lost the support of the BBC in allowing radio for me, always has been because from an
would come out. There is a total close down, you them to take the chances that they wanted to actor’s point of view you can do things that you
can’t see much at all, and because you can’t hear take and to actually go forward with stuff. It was wouldn’t be able to do in real life. GM
©BBC

16 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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 w w w.geeky mon key.tv 17

GM#18_006-018_DoctorWho.indd 17 08/02/2017 20:18

 THE REGENERATION GAME
What brought on The Doctor’s big changes?
THE SEVENTH AGE: MODERN TIMES
[2010-THE FUTURE]
[1] FIRST DOCTOR [THE TENTH PLANET, 1966]
O ld and worn out, Hartnell’s Doc collapses on the floor of the TARDIS.
A few minutes later, Patrick Troughton gets up again. Clever eh? The start of a new decade has often coincided with a sea-change in Doctor
Who’s history. The coming of Jon Pertwee in 1970, the regeneration to Peter
[2] SECOND DOCTOR [THE WAR GAMES, 1970]
As punishment for his interventionist ways, the Time Lords force a
Davison roughly a decade later, before the Nineties drought. 2010 similarly
“change of appearance” on Troughton’s Doctor as well as exile to Earth. saw change with the arrival of Matt Smith, the youngest ever Doctor at 27, on
New Year’s Day. Smith had a tough act to follow. Aside from a role in the short
[3] THIRD DOCTOR [PLANET OF THE SPIDERS, 1974] lived but well received drama Party Animals, he was generally little known,
Poisoned by radiation, this saw the term “regeneration” used for the
whereas David Tennant had by now been judged a huge success.
first time. In Doctor Who, that is. Not ever in the entire world.
Another big change was the departure of Russell T. Davies as showrunner.
[4] FOURTH DOCTOR [LOGOPOLIS, 1981] Davies was the man who had saved Doctor Who. How would the show fare
Falls from a radio telescope. We’ve all done it. without him? Happily, as it turned out. Though ratings have declined in the
[5] FIFTH DOCTOR [THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI, 1984]
last decade, Doctor Who has continued to prosper under Davies’s successor
S uccumbs to poisoning while staring at Nicola Bryant’s cleavage. It’s Steven Moffat. Already an experienced writer for the series, Moffat also
what he would have wanted… oversaw the dramatic War Doctor storyline, one which brought to the screen
Sir John Hurt in one of his last great roles as a hitherto overlooked manifestation
[6] SIXTH DOCTOR [TIME AND THE RANI, 1987]
of The Doctor.
C olin Baker’s Doctor regenerates into Sylvester McCoy following a
This storyline brought to an end Matt Smith’s tenure in 2013. By playing
crash landing for the TARDIS. Baker refused to participate, so McCoy
was filmed throughout the process using clever special effects and a
The Doctor convincingly as if he were a much older man (which of course he
blond curly wig. is), Smith brought a welcome dapper eccentricity to the role. His successor
Peter Capaldi, on paper, should have been Smith’s opposite: the oldest ever
[7] SEVENTH DOCTOR [TV FILM, 1996] Doctor to Smith’s youngest, Capaldi was also a well-known actor since the
I n a fridge in a morgue after being shot in LA.
early Eighties. He in fact brought a likeable garrulous Scots humour to the
[8] EIGHTH DOCTOR [THE NIGHT OF THE DOCTOR, 2013] part. Both men were aided immeasurably by two exceptional companions:
Paul McGann’s Doctor dies in a spaceship crash regenerating into the Amy Pond (played by Karen Gillan) and Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman).
War Doctor (the late John Hurt) after drinking a special potion in this Ultimately, the future of Doctor Who is as yet unwritten. We do not even
mini-episode. The War Doctor then himself regenerates from old age know much about series ten. Yes, a few old favourites will return: Matt Lucas
in the 50th anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor (also 2013). Do will reprise his recent role as Nardole. After a long build-up Pearl Mackie will
keep up please.
finally take up her role as companion Bill to Capaldi’s Doctor. The likes of
[9] NINTH DOCTOR [THE PARTING OF THE WAYS, 2005] David Suchet and Ralf Little are also expected to appear. Episode titles include
C hristopher Eccleston perishes after absorbing the time vortex. ‘A Star In Her Eye’, ‘The Haunted Hub’ and ‘The Eaters of Light’. But more big
change is afoot. The series will be Moffat’s last as showrunner: he is to be
[10] TENTH DOCTOR [THE END OF TIME, 2010]
A bsorbs a vast amount of radiation thus saving Wilfred Mott (Bernard
replaced by Chris Chibnall. Veteran actor Peter Capaldi has indicated that this
Cribbins). Tennant wasn’t even born when Cribbins appeared in the will also be his last series too, so it’s all change.
Sixties Who movie. What does Capaldi’s departure potentially mean for the show? Ultimately
it is how Doctor Who responds to such changes, how successfully it renews
[11] ELEVENTH DOCTOR [ THE TIME OF THE DOCTOR, 2013]
and refreshes itself, which will determine Doctor Who’s future. It is these
Receives a new lease of life after receiving a regeneration cycle from
qualities which have ensured its survival in the past half century and will
the Time Lords before regenerating into Peter Capaldi.
maintain it in the future for generations of Timelord fans to come. GM
©BBC

18 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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18-19 MARCH 2017
NEC - BIRMINGHAM

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

 FRONTLINE BLADE RUNNER 2049
THE LATEST HAPPENINGS FROM AROUND THE GEEK DOME…
THE LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL GOES INTO ITS EDITING PHASE

S
o director Denis Villeneuve wrapped up principal photography teasingly replied, “With Harrison Ford? I don’t know yet. Is he too
on Blade Runner 2049 starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford old? Well, he was a Nexus-6 so we don’t know how long he can live,”
last November in Budapest, Hungary. Warner Bros has been did he answer the 35 year old question there?
drip-feeding us die-hard Blade Runner fans little snippets of We just had to share these two concept art images with all you
information and imagery to whet our appetites ever since. Geeky Monkeys – the neon, the rain, the smoke, the vehicles – it all
The development of a sequel goes back as far as 1999 when Stuart evokes flashbacks to the 1982 original movie, which is exactly what
Hazeldine wrote one based on the novel The Edge of Human. It was to fans want to see. Just a note or two from Vangelis’ original Blade
be titled Blade Runner Down, but concerns over the rights of the Runner soundtrack can take any sci-fi nut back to the first time they
novel shelved the project. Teasingly, Ridley Scott told fans at the San watched the movie and were transported into that grungy, future Los
Diego Comic Con that he had considered a sequel, potentially titled Angeles world of retro-tech, Cityspeak and noodles. The story,
Metropolis, that would explore the off-world colonies, then nothing. images, sound effects and music combined perfectly to cement Blade
Fast forward ten years and the New York Times reported that Ridley, Runner in the Top 10 sci-fi movies of all time chart. So no pressure on
along with his brother Tony Scott, were working on a prequel titled Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson then as he faces creating the
Purefold, as a series of web shorts. Web shorts? Luckily for fans music for Blade Runner 2049. He’s a fan of Vangelis’ original score, so
everywhere that didn’t happen and Ridley finally got this movie into that’s good, and has been quoted as saying this project is, “an
development in 2011, but disappointingly it would turn out he would enormous challenge of mythical proportion.”
only produce, not direct. When asked about Harrison Ford’s return he 6 October can’t come fast enough. GM
©WARNER BROS

20 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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 FRONTLINE

FOUR OF THE BEST...

REASONS TO CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF JOHN HURT

ALIEN
Y E A R , 1 9 7 9 // P L AY E D , K A N E

“In space no one can hear you scream,” read the tagline. But in reality, it
was the final dying screams of Kane, John Hurt’s unfortunate Nostromo
crew member as he succumbed to the chestburster in the 1979 sci-fi
classic, which stayed with many in the audience long after the film itself
had ended. Credit, of course, belongs to director Ridley Scott, particularly
for the masterstroke of not telling the rest of the cast what was going to
happen (Veronica Cartwright subsequently passed out). But it is Hurt’s
performance, convulsions, twitching arms and all which truly makes
this one of the most brilliantly horrifying film sequences of all time.

THE ELEPHANT MAN

Y E A R , 1 9 8 0 // P L AY E D , J O H N M E R R I C K

Thanks partly to great TV roles like the mad tyrant Caligula in I, Claudius
and the flamboyant Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant, by 1980
John Hurt was becoming very famous. It is odd then that in one of his
most acclaimed roles he is completely unrecognisable under a mask of
brilliant make-up. As the deformed and tragic Merrick, rescued from a
Victorian freak show by Anthony Hopkins’ Doctor Treves, even Hurt’s
very distinctive gravelly voice is heavily disguised. Hurt received the
second of two Oscar nominations in David Lynch’s film, playing a part
that far from being fantasy was based on a real, tragic, historical figure.

HARRY POT TER AND THE PHILOSOPHER ’S STONE

Y E A R , 2 0 0 1 // P L AY E D , G A R R I C K O L L I VA N D E R

Hurt would have made a great Gandalf or Dumbledore. He had, as a

younger man, voiced Aragon in Ralph Bakshi’s animated Lord of the
Rings (1978). But it was in the small part of Mr Ollivander the kindly
wand maker that Hurt appeared in the first Harry Potter movie,
reprising the role in the final two Harry Potter films a decade later.
Heavily aged for the role (Hurt never exactly looked young for his age
anyway), Hurt’s appearance was in fact reminiscent of an early fantasy
role: his fondly remembered turn as the host of Jim Henson’s 1988
series, The StoryTeller, that is well worth searching for on YouTube.

DOC TOR WHO

Y E A R , 2 0 1 3 // P L AY E D , T H E WA R D O C T O R

It is easy to forget how many Geeky Monkey friendly roles John Hurt
appeared in. He was both Winston Smith in 1984 (1984) and the Big
©20TH CENTURY FOX / ©UNIVERSAL PICTURES / ©WARNER BROS / ©BBC

Brother-like fascist dictator Adam Sutler in V For Vendetta (2006). He

twice played paranormal expert Trevor Bruttonholm in the Hellboy
films, cropped up in extra-terrestrial drama Contact (1997) and voiced
The Horned King in Disney flop The Black Cauldron (1985). His role as the
mysterious War Doctor in Doctor Who in his final years, however, will
long resonate with many viewers. Hurt was also not afraid to send up his
most famous scene in Mel Brooks’ otherwise ill-judged Star Wars spoof
Spaceballs (1987). “Oh no!” cries Hurt as the alien (who this time is very
musical) propels out of his chest a second time. “Not again!” Thanks John.

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 21

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 MAP OF GEEK
IF YOU WANT TO STEP BACK IN
TIME, VISIT BATH. IT WAS GOOD
ENOUGH FOR THE ROMANS, SO
HAS PROVED GOOD ENOUGH
FOR FILM AND TV COMPANIES
OVER THE YEARS…

// B AT H

BONEKICKERS

T
hanks to being basically a Jane Austen with it, and not batting an eye when some actor
theme park, the ancient Somerset city of in periwig or wedding cake dress strolls by.
Bath has been a regular filming location But none of the above can compare to the
since the dawn of cinema, and yes, mainly for geeky enormity of Bonekickers – to this day,
period adaptations – classics like Kubrick’s one of the biggest TV turkeys of all time, of a
Barry Lyndon and the 1968 caper The Wrong kind we simply don’t expect to ever see in the
Box filmed in the area (with Michael Caine, 21st century. Doing away with all the frills
Peter Cook and Dudley Moore all converging on and bonnets, this 2008 BBC series still made
the city’s iconic Royal Crescent to recreate the good use of Bath’s thousands of years of history
caper’s Victorian setting), while more recently, by featuring a gang of kick-ass archeologists
DRACULA
fresh films of Persuasion and Northanger investigating the ultimate cold cases every
Abbey (2007) were no-brainers, Vanity Fair week. The problem is, despite being created
(2004) and The Duchess (2008) saw Reece by the Life On Mars creative team of Ashley
Witherspoon and Keira Knightley bustling Pharoah and Matthew Graham, Bonekickers
around in bustles, while the 2006 BBC version was greeted with hoots of derision from all
of Dracula, starring Marc Warren, Dan Stevens sides, so deadly melodramatic were its heroes,
and David Suchet, was one of the only films to and so silly its concepts, and with each passing
make any use of the crumbly old city’s huge year, like the campest of ITC Avengers series,
potential as a horror location. Bonekickers has only grown its kind of so-
To this day, big TV names like Poldark and bad-it’s-good cult followings, be it stunningly
Sherlock are likely to roll into town to get some ill-judged beheadings of Muslim immigrants,
crucial footage in the can. A scene in Sherlock’s gigantic CG snakes or looking for the True
The Abominable Bride required the lodgings of Cross in Hereford, this dodgy search for
the Victorian Holmes to be built in the middle of Excalibur would put Indiana Jones to shame
the street – no clever CG editing was required, – it’s moot whether Harrison Ford could have THE WRONG BOX

and street scenes were filmed in nearby Queen carried off punching a bad guy and shouting
Square in Bristol. Bath is liable to be a film set for ‘Back off, I’m an archaeologist!’ with quite the
much of the year, with locals just having to get on same gusto as Hugh Bonneville. GM

SHERLOCK: THE ABOMINABLE BRIDE

©BBC / ©COLUMBIA PICTURES

MARK GATISS ON THE SET OF SHERLOCK

22 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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 FRONTLINE

NEWS BITES

WATCH OUT, THERE’S A BATARANG ABOUT! NOT GOING TO RUN, AND RUN?
Nintendo’s first foray into the
full-blown mobile gaming market
You’ve got to be careful when walking the streets of London, no not those who’ve “got to pick a with Super Mario Run has run
pocket or two” – Batarangs! Celebrating the launch of The LEGO Batman Movie this month, Warner out of puff already. According to
Bros and LEGO have commissioned a LEGO design company called Bright Bricks to create an Nintendo’s President, only 5% of the
amazing smoking Batarang that looks like it has been thrown across the Thames from St Paul’s. The over 78 million players who have
pavement is smashed to pieces, there’s a red hue coming from molten rock and a Batarang standing downloaded the game have chosen to
three meters tall, 133 times the size of the piece that comes with the LEGO Batman Minifigure. There pay the £9.99 the big N were asking
are 35,000 LEGO pieces in the model, and founder of Brick Bricks Duncan Titmarsh is suitably proud, to unlock the full game. That’s half
“Creating this groundbreaking installation has been a real passion project for us at Bright Bricks the number they were hoping for.
and is one of our most dynamic creations yet. It’s been fantastic to see everyone’s reaction to it, It still earns the company around
particularly up close when the detail of the 35,000 LEGO bricks really comes to life.” Wait a minute, £32 million though, so not bad for a
is ‘LEGO design’ a job these days then? Why are we sitting here still writi… mobile game. We have to say that we
thought the price was a bit steep. It
seems others agreed!

CLASSIC QUOTE
“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the
Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”
ARTHUR C. CLARKE

PLAYSTATION4 EXPANSION
What’s the biggest problem with the
PS4? It’s a solid console with some
great games, are you stuck? Those
Where the heck is Harry? games take up a lot of storage space.
I bet he’s got that invisibility cloak on again! So it’s great news that in Sony’s
upcoming 4.50 update to the system
they will at last unlock support for
external hard drives. Any USB 3.0
HDD will now work if plugged in to
a spare USB port. This will give you
up to 8TB of additional storage for all
those lengthy game updates and mean
you no longer have to choose which
games to delete. What else is new?
You can save game screens as custom
wallpapers, the Quick Menu has been
©DC COMICS/LEGO/WARNER BROS / ©NINTENDO / ©SONY

improved and there’s a simplified

Notification List for info at a glance.
Got a PlayStation VR? You lucky devil,
well now you will also be able to
watch blu-ray movies in stereoscopic
3D. It will… Blow. Your. Mind.

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 23

GM#18_020-023_FrontlinesBriefs.indd 23 08/02/2017 20:31

 OPINION

Jabber OUR GEEK IN RESIDENCE,

CLAIRE LIM, TAKES ON A
BURNING SUBJECT FROM THE

Talky
GEEKIVERSE EACH ISSUE.
THIS MONTH SHE SCREAMS…
“THE HORROR
GENRE IS TIRED” WITH RESIDENT
GEEK, CLAIRE LIM
@WEECLAIRE

H “THE BEST OF HORROR

orror is a genre that gets way more The heavyweights should look to these
airtime than science fiction, in part, films for something more effective. 2016’s Lights
because horror can be as low or high Out seemed promising but the story fell flat DRAWS THE VIEWER IN
budget as it wants. In fact, some of the best of once the novelty of the light switch trick wore PSYCHOLOGICALLY”
horror is often low budget and simple. out. In the same year we also had The Shallows,
However, after 2016’s Blair Witch, I felt which looked good but there’s not much you can
annoyed that I had even entertained the idea of do with the ‘woman against shark’ story and,
spending money on this waste of a time movie. spoiler alert, she somehow survives. The Purge
It offered nothing in terms of frights (and I this films are also guilty of low stakes horror as is
is coming from someone who is an utter nervous The Conjuring, the blueprint is overused and it’s cameras undergo some heavy-duty action but
wreck with horror) and had pretty much time for a bloody spring clean. they all seem to keep shooting, why? Don’t
followed the same structure of every found Then there are franchises that start strong point a camera into a scary thing’s faces, are
footage film of recent times. Attractive people and peter out. 2012’s Sinister had the perfect you stupid?!
in an eerie setting go to investigate something amount of creepy thrills and ‘sinister’ lore but As I mentioned, the best of horror draws
spooky, each dying in a predicable sequence the 2015 sequel had run out of steam and fell the viewer in psychologically. Ideas and
climaxing in a shallow ‘reveal’ at the end. Yawn. victim to the horror malaise. characters that get inside your head and use the
I started on a rather negative note here so Meanwhile, found footage horrors are still power of the mind over a lazy blood bath will
I’ll backtrack a little before I move forward. Let in their pomp and not going away anytime always win. There is nothing more terrifying
me get this straight, there are decent horror soon. Although I’ve yet to meet any Cloverfield than the power of our imaginations and the
flicks out there, but the ones that are worth your detractors, I’m putting my cards on the table best horror films understand this.
time are always the leftfield choices. It Follows – it was dull, dull, dull (10 Cloverfield Lane Horror is a genre that has moments of
(2014), Starry Eyes (2014), Don’t Breathe (2016), though – wow!). There is something about greatness but it’s always been interspersed by
The House of the Devil (2009), Hush (2016), found footage horrors that feels lazy to me quick money making franchises and cheap
The Babadook (2014) and The Witch (2015) are and 2008’s Cloverfield fell into the ‘beautiful hits, it needs a kick up the arse. It’s fine having
superb. These films use their influences and people escape terror and die one by one’ vibe. ‘popcorn movies’ but, at times, it feels like an
create something original instead of repeating Instead of feeling immersive, found footage endless conveyor belt of nonsense. Remember –
the horror formula – these films focus on the films just awaken the skeptical voices in my always keep searching beyond the ‘big hitters’
psychological terror instead on relying on cheap head. If you’re running away from something for the cream of the crop – supporting quality
thrills, CGI or mindless violence. bad, why are you holding a camera? These films means more will get made. CL
©LIONSGATE / ©PARAMOUNT

24 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_024_JabberTalky.indd 24 08/02/2017 20:32

 © 2016 EUROPACORP - SHUT IN PRODUCTIONS INC. SHUT IN PRODUCTIONS (VANCOUVER) INC.

Ad.indd 1 09/02/2017 16:53

 THREE GEEKS WALK INTO A BAR, YOU CAN GUARANTEE ONE LIKES STAR WARS,
ONE PREFERS STAR TREK, THE OTHER IS JUST INTO DWARVES WITH SWORDS. IT’S
THE ETERNAL DEBATE, BUT WHICH ONE IS BEST?

FIGHTING TALK

STAR WARS VS
STAR TREK

…it’s always been Kirk for me

SAYS CLAIRE LIM

S
tar Trek versus Star Wars is a debate I’ve had over many a Some may feel the Star Trek franchise is boring, that
pint and it’s OK to like both! I’m into all things sci-fi and it’s dull and there’s not enough action and excitement, but
both franchises are seminal pieces of work in terms of that’s not the point (and there is plenty of action by the way!).
genre. However, despite this, I’ve always been Team Star Trek. Roddenberry’s vision captures the spirit of adventure, our
My love of Star Trek started very young, when I used to need to push our boundaries and explore the unknown. The
sit and watch The Original Series and The Next Generation fact that so much of the ‘science’ of Star Trek is now a reality
with my mum. I loved the complexity of the characters and is testament to its importance in pop culture – 3D printers
their relationship with one another and how they changed and (replicators), virtual reality (holodeck), universal translators
developed through numerous seasons and films. The world and so much more.
that Gene Roddenberry created was aspirational; I wasn’t keen Both franchises are different but, for me, Star Trek is
on school as a youngster and when times were tough at home, better. Whilst steeped in reason and logic, it also captures an
the reasoned world of Star Trek was the calm in the storm. aspect of human nature we can all understand and is set in
The rough and tumble, sense of adventure of Star Wars a society that is truly equal. Star Wars is like a western set in
has is also great but it’s a franchise that has made a lot of space, its narrative binds it and, whilst we’re set to see some
mistakes over the years and, although it’s picking up the great Star Wars films to come, they’ll never be as inspirational
pieces now, it often suffers from ‘fan blindness’. The Force as Star Trek.
Awakens hit all the marks in terms of nostalgia but it also
did nothing new and, I have to admit, I actually fell asleep “THE ROUGH AND TUMBLE,
during Rogue One (showing your age there Claire – Ed). I
wasn’t invested in the characters and wasn’t interested in a SENSE OF ADVENTURE OF STAR
WARS HAS IS ALSO GREAT”
©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

film where I already knew what was going to happen. Darth

Vader’s badass moments were particularly awesome though!

26 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_026-027_FightingTalk.indd 26 08/02/2017 20:33

 …She’s got it where it counts
SAYS MARK NEWBOLD

I “IN NUMBERS, WARS HAS THE

f we consider this a heavyweight bout, let’s look at the tale The Galaxy Far Far
Away or the Final
of the tape. Both franchises boast vociferous and tenacious
fandoms. While Trek started the convention scene as EDGE, BUT THE DIFFERENCES Frontier? Let’s be
greedy and enjoy both.
we know it, booming out of the sci-fi Cons of the 60s and
launching a new era of fandom, it was Star Wars that took
LIE DEEPER”
fandom and spray-painted it across popular culture in a
manner not seen before or since. Indeed, while Trek has ebbed to the stars was far more focused on the characters and their
and flowed in terms of popularity, Star Wars has remained interpersonal relationships. At heart, Star Trek is a soap while
high for four decades, even in times when there was little Star Wars is a saga. Battleships versus fighters, blasters versus
physical or on-screen product to consume. phasers. Plenty of similarities, but the Star Wars galaxy is
Trek has always been blessed with compelling characters. a far more attractive locale than its Trek equivalent, which
The triumvirate of Kirk, Spock and McCoy, Picard, Sisko, posits a hippified future always on the brink of conflict. Star
Janeway, the list goes on. However, those characters never Wars presents a perpetual state of war with warrior monks
caught the imaginations of the broader public in the same fighting alongside robots, pirates and farmers. Eternal conflict,
way Darth Vader, Yoda and Chewbacca did. The music of Trek providing plenty of juice for the storytelling engine.
is instantly recognisable, while the score of the Star Wars There’s really no easy answer to this. Trek is cerebral and
saga not only won Oscars but is arguably the most popular thought-provoking while Star Wars is visceral, emotional,
film music in history. In numbers, Wars has the edge, but the from the gut. Trek holds up a mirror to modern society while
differences lie deeper. Star Wars relies heavily on mythology, Wars is a long time ago and far away. That said, I have to go
weaving an epic saga on a Shakespearean scale. Trek may with my heart. Star Wars grabbed me as a kid in ’77 and never
have referenced the Bard a number of times, most notably let go. Despite Trek boasting the greatest TV show ever (Deep
in Undiscovered Country, but Roddenberry’s wagon train Space Nine) my vote goes to the GFFA.
©LUCASFILM

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 27

GM#18_026-027_FightingTalk.indd 27 08/02/2017 20:34

 YOUR SAY
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR STAR WARS VS STAR TREK COMMENTS ON FACEBOOK
AND TWITTER. HERE’S A SELECTION OF THE PRINTABLE ONES…

FIGHTING Star Wars was always better, even If you’re a true geeky monkey, you love them both, but
if George Lucas tried to throw it all somehow I have always erred towards Star Wars. I think
away with The Phantom Menace! it’s because a new movie was always a big event in my
Great action, comedy and dialogue childhood, while for years Star Trek was just a TV show.
makes Star Wars head and shoulders IAN MALONY
above Star Trek!
OWEN HOLLIFIELD Star Trek has always reinvented itself for a new generation of fans,
while Star Wars failed badly at this in the 1990s and 2000s with
Both awesome! Why do they need Episodes I, II and III, and is only now starting to win a new fandom
to compete? It’s like saying which with the new movie line-up from The Force Awakens onwards. Many
is better, Ghostbusters or Back To of my friends love The Clone Wars, but I just couldn’t get into it, I’m
The Future? all about the live action!
RETROSTEVEUK DANNY POULTON

Stunt casting it may be, but imagine I think it’s an age thing. My
how cool it would be to see Shatner dad absolutely loved Star
cast in a Star Wars movie! Trek, it always seemed to
ASHLEY BEECHING be on in our house growing
up and I got drawn in to the
Captain Threepwood at the helm stories too. So now, I have
of the U.S.S. Millennium Falcon fond memories of being a
(a Firefly class cargo vessel). His Trekkie with my dad. We
intrepid crew: ship’s Dr. Who, went to the Star Wars movies
pilot Larado, Chief Engineer too and enjoyed them, but
Snotty and Science Officer Star Trek was there week-in-
Ripley. Watch as they defend the galaxy from the evil Dark week-out.
Helmet and his band of primative screwheads. Watch as they DAVID SMITH
ride the wild rollercoaster to another world to fight Venger
and the demon horde lead by Crowley. (Err, thanks Kris – Ed)
KRIS ANDERSON

That’s like asking which is best? Eating or drinking. Gotta do both.

BACK
IANANDOUT

Star Trek – been around a lot longer, not Jar Jar Binks, but it did give
us the Cardassians who are all over the place now w/selfies.
BARRY WALSH

THE GEEKY FACEBOOK TWITTER PODCAST

MONKEY Facebook “f ” Logo [FACEBOOK.COM/GEEKYMONKEYMAG]
CMYK / .ai Facebook “f ” Logo [@THEGEEKYMONKEY]
CMYK / .ai [SOUNDCLOUD.COM, SEARCH “GEEKY MONKEY”]

WO R L D Keep up with the daily news There was a day when a The perfect accompaniment
WE’RE NOT JUST A from the team at Geeky hashtag was the extra crispy to Geeky Monkey magazine
MAGAZINE YOU KNOW, Monkey Towers by Liking bits from a hashbrown with – a podcast full of geeks
YOU’LL FIND US IN ALL our page on Facebook. You’ll your breakfast… no more! talking geeky. Our podcast is
©PARAMOUNT PICTURES / ©LUCASFILM

THE USUAL SOCIAL find regular competitions Follow the Geeky Monkey presented by Claire Lim with
PLACES AND WE HAVE A
to win some great geek gear, the latest movie team on Twitter to fill the smart device of your a helping hand from Paul Gannon. Interviews,
NEW PODCAST FOR YOU
TO ENJOY TOO… trailers and all the gossip that keeps the geek choice with little nuggets of geeky goodness comment, laughs, tears. Search “Geeky
train chugging on. You can also message us throughout the day. You can also enter our Monkey” on SoundCloud or iTunes and you’ll
and get your views onto this Fighting Back competitions on Twitter, and let us know what find a wealth of previous podcasts that are well
page. Go on, get involved! you think of the magazine. worth your time too.

28 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_028_FightingBack.indd 28 09/02/2017 20:32

Ad.indd 1 09/02/2017 16:53
 TIME
TIMEsss
MACHINE
1982
COME WITH GEEKY MONKEY ON
A TRIP THROUGH TIME, BACK
TO A SIMPLER LIFE OF PAPER
ROUNDS, TISWAS AND THE
CORONA POP MAN

The ZX Spectrum launched on

23 April bringing games like The
Hobbit and Horace Goes Skiing to
eagre bedroom gamers.

You can think of a time before going on to form companies. robbery up to that point was HIGHLIGHTS
1982 as black and white, and Codemasters, Ocean, Gremlin perpetrated in New York with
1982 onwards as colour. That’s Graphics, Ultimate Play the $9,800,000 being stolen from // T
 H E F I R S T C D P L AY E R S
how is felt to those geeks Game – names that can still an armoured car. The three W E R E R E L E A S E D I N J A PA N
old enough to have lived bring a thrill to gamers today. thieves, including a father // C
 H A N N E L 4 WA S
L AUNCHED, ITS FIRS T
through it, that’s because Sir US company Commodore gave and son, were caught and P R O G R A M M E WA S
Clive Sinclair’s ZX Spectrum chase in August launching the sentenced to 15 years each COUNTDOWN WHILE IT V
L AUNCHED REG IONAL
launched on 23 April. Over Commodore 64. In fact, the in the penitentiary. Shame, S TAT I O N S C E N T R A L , T V
the next ten years the home Time magazine Man of the Year as they would have enjoyed SOUTH AND TV SOUTHWEST

computer would go on to sell award went to ‘The Computer’, Walt Disney’s new theme park // T
 H E YO U N G O N E S WA S O N B B C 2
// T
 HE UK’S LOWEST E VER
five million units in eight heralding the Information Age. that opened this year. EPCOT T E M P E R AT U R E R E C O R D E D WA S
models, and was originally The year was dominated (it stands for ExPerimental - 2 7. 2 ° C I N B R A E M A R
marketed on its colour display, by the outbreak of war between Community Of Tomorrow) // W
 AR BROKE OUT BET WEEN THE
UK AND ARGENTINA OVER THE
when most computers before the UK and Argentina over The showed thrill seekers a glimpse FA L K L A N D I S L A N D S
it had monochrome outputs. Falkland Islands on 2 April. of future technology, a glimpse // T
 H E D E L O R E A N C A R FA C T O R Y I N
This little rubber keyed marvel Margaret Thatcher wasn’t that has lost its shine over the B E L FA S T W E N T B A N K R U P T

must take a lot of the credit going to have the British island years as they show much the // F
 ORD ENDED PRODUC TION OF THE
CORTINA AF TER 20 YE ARS
for the birth of the British invaded and the full force of the same stuff today. // H
 ENRY VIII’S FL AGSHIP MARY ROSE
games industry, encouraging military was brought down on NASA had geeks glued T H AT S U N K I N 1 5 4 5 WA S R A I S E D
FROM THE SEABED
bedroom coders to create their the invaders, bringing the war to their TVs on 16 November
// D
 OUGL A S ADAMS’ LIFE, THE
own games, entering lines of to an end by 14 June. as they launched the space UNIVERSE AND EVERY THING BOOK
code printed in the computer While over in America shuttle Columbia, deploying WA S P U B L I S H E D
magazines of the day, then the largest ever cash two communication satellites. // I T WA S A G O O D Y E A R F O R D O C T O R
W H O – M AT T S M I T H A N D B I L L I E
©SINCLAIR/AMSTRAD

PIPER WERE BOTH BORN

30 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_030-031_TimeMachine.indd 30 09/02/2017 09:18

 TIME MACHINE

Movies & TV “ R E P L I C ANT S AR E L I KE ANY OT HE R

MAC H I NE – T H E Y ’R E E I T H E R A B E N E F I T
It was a year for new TV channels: on 26 April ‘The Satellite Channel’ O R A H AZAR D. I F T H E Y ’R E A B E N E F I T,
was launched, later renaming itself Sky, then came Channel 4 on 2 I T ’S NOT MY P R O B L E M.”
November. Over on the BBC we had a new Doctor Who to start off the
HA RRISON FORD AS D EC KA RD IN BL ADE RUNNER
year with Peter Davison becoming the Fifth Doctor, dressed in cricket
gear in the episode ‘Castrovalva’. He had regenerated from Tom Baker
in the previous year’s 18th series finale ‘Logopolis’.
It was at the cinema that geeks were getting most of their
pleasures though. The top grossing movie of the year came in
December with Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, with
Fox providing wet dreams for a generation with Porky’s. Yes, if you
freeze-frame it on VHS you can see everything! The big summer
blockbuster was Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, with Captain
Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise taking on the genetically
engineered Khan. Sci-fi fans were left stunned again come
September by Ridley Scott’s future vision in Blade Runner, although
the movie was a slow burn for many moviegoers.
1982 saw the first use of computer imagery in the movies come
October when Disney released Tron. While the movie didn’t enter
the top ten, it pushed forward movie technology.

Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .ai Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .ai

GEEKY
MONKEY
KEEP UP WITH THE
LATEST GEEK NEWS –
RETRO AND MODERN
Computer games Music
The first big computer games battle in the UK began in 1982 with You can’t reminisce about the 1980s without classic tunes coming
Sinclair’s ZX Spectrum taking on Commodore’s C64. The biggest to mind, and 1982 had more than its fair share of singles that have
games were Addictive Games’ Football Manager and Choplifter gone on to stand the test of time. The number one single of the
by Brøderbund. Neither machine could touch the worldwide year in the UK was Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ Come on Eileen,
popularity of the Atari 2600 that had been on sale for four years a stomp of a song that got even the most reluctant lads up on the
by this point, but the 2600’s games were often considered chunky dance floor of the discos. Culture Club’s Do You Really Want to
and clunky, while the new home computers had the added Hurt Me? was a highlight, along with Kraftwerk proving you
attraction of BASIC languages kids could try out for themselves, don’t have to dance around the stage with The Model, backed with
giving a perfect “it’s for homework” excuse to give mum and dad. Computer Love on the B-side. 80’s classics Don’t You Want Me
Atari had its biggest and most famous disaster this year as it from The Human League, Only You by Yazoo and House of Fun by
rushed out a game tie-in with the E.T. movie for that Christmas. Madness were all released in 1982.
Programmer Howard Scott Warshaw only had five and a half On 30 November Michael Jackson changed music forever
weeks to create the game. Over production and returns resulted by releasing his sixth studio album Thriller, in just one year it
in thousands of cartridges being buried in the New Mexico desert. became the best-selling album of all time, a record it still holds
Atari never fully recovered. The console did get the first ever Star today with 65 million copies sold, giving us unforgettable singles
©WARNER BROS / ©SEGA / ©NINTENDO / ©EPIC

Wars console game this year though with Empire Strikes Back. Billie Jean, Beat it and the titular Thriller with zombie video.
In the arcades SEGA wowed with the isometric graphics of Upstart TV broadcaster Channel 4 launched The Tube,
Zaxxon while Nintendo released the sequel Donkey Kong Jr and showcasing emerging alternative bands like Eurythmics,
Namco had the most popular racing game in Pole Position. This Depeche Mode, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Orchestral
year also saw the introduction of a little chap called Q*bert. Manoeuvres in the Dark.

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 31

GM#18_030-031_TimeMachine.indd 31 09/02/2017 17:47

 THE
LIVE
ACTION
VERSION
OF THE
SEMINAL MANGA
GHOST IN THE SHELL
HITS MOVIE THEATRES
AROUND THE GLOBE IN
MARCH. IT’S ONE OF THIS
YEAR’S MOST ANTICIPATED FILMS
BUT HAS ALREADY DIVIDED FANS ON
ISSUES FROM CALLS OF WHITEWASHING
TO PLOT KNIT-PICKING. DESPITE THE
NAYSAYERS, DIRECTOR RUPERT SANDERS HAS
RISEN TO THE MONUMENTAL TASK OF BRINGING TO
LIFE THE STORY OF GHOST IN THE SHELL IN THIS NEW
LIVE ACTION VERSION, A STORY TRADITIONALLY STEEPED
I N D E E P S O C I O LO G I C A L A N D P H I LO S O P H I C A L T H E M E S .
©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

32 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_032-040_GhostInTheShell.indd 32 08/02/2017 20:37

 W H AT
D O E S I T
ME A N
T O B E
H U M A N ?

S
anders has a lot to live up to, Ghost in the Shell’s themes
and style have been a huge influence on western
filmmakers; it may not be obvious, but once you
scrutinise closely, the similarities strewn through sci-fi
films of the last few decades are numerous.
Whether, the live action Ghost in the Shell can
deliver the original manga’s complex plot and the anime’s slick
cyberpunk style, however, remains to be seen, but from the first teaser
and trailer it’s looking promising. Sanders seems to have captured the
spirit of the anime in a few key scenes, and perhaps the calls of
whitewashing were thrown out too soon. If you’re not already familiar
with Ghost in the Shell’s background, we suggest you study-up in Words: CLAIRE LIM
preparation with our definitive guide to this classic Japanese franchise. We’re sure she’s a robot.

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 33

GM#18_032-040_GhostInTheShell.indd 33 08/02/2017 20:37

 With many scenes mimicking
the anime original, fans of
Ghost in the Shell are going to
thrill at seeing the story come
to life in live action.

M O B I L E A R M O R E D M A K I N G I T S
R I O T P O L I C E A N I M E D E B U T
Ghost in the Shell, or officially Kōkaku Kidōtai, which translates as In 1995, Ghost in the Shell was released as a science-fiction anime
‘Armored Shell’ or ‘Mobile Armored Riot Police’ was first serialised in directed by Mamoru Oshii. The film turned out to be one of the most
Japan in 1989. It appeared in Kodansha’s manga anthology Young expensive animes ever made and followed the Puppet Master to
Magazine from 1989 to 1991 and was released in tankōbon format (a become an important and iconic reference point for anime fans.
book that is not part of a series) in 1991. Creator Masamune Shirow The soundtrack was composed by Kenji Kawai, and thanks to
always wanted the title to officially be Ghost In the Shell as Arthur Kawai Ghost in the Shell has one of the most unforgettable opening
Koestler’s The Ghost in the Machine heavily influenced the story, but themes. Opening track ‘Making A Cyborg’ is a blend of Japanese and
his Japanese publishers at the time weren’t keen. Bulgarian folk music, using Bulgarian harmonies with traditional
Shirow wrote and illustrated the manga, set in mid 21st century Japanese notes, sung in the ancient language of Yamato – the lyrics are
Japan, in the fictional city of Niihama. Shirow’s cyberpunk setting taken from a traditional wedding prayer. Much like how Vangelis’
depicts a future where ‘pure’ humans are a rarity. People can soundtrack is completely intertwined with the Blade Runner mythos,
cybernetically enhance themselves via prosthesis or via a cybernetic Kawai created a unique sound for Ghost in the Shell that is integral to
brain, which leaves them open to expert hackers who are able to access the atmosphere.
the information in their heads. Oshii was determined to create a sense of realism in the film and
The story follows Major Motoko Kusanagi who, along with Daisuke even flew the animators to Guam to shoot guns at a variety of
Aramaki, leads a counter-cyber terrorist organisation called Public materials to test how different shots would react. The realistic
Security Sector 9. Sector 9 is investigating cyber-criminal the movement of the characters and attention to detail are what gives the
Puppeteer, who ‘ghost hacks’ humans with cyber brains. As their anime that special edge, bringing together traditional cel and CG
investigation continues, they discover that the Puppeteer isn’t human animation for added effect.
but, in fact, an artificial intelligence created by the Japanese However, there are small differences between the manga and the
government. Kusanagi eventually allows the Puppeteer to merge with anime, mainly felt in the character design of The Major herself. In
her and leaves Section 9 to become a private contractor. Kusanagi’s post Shirow’s manga, The Major is feminine and sexualised with various
Ghost in the Shell adventures are told in Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human- quirky facial expressions that work for that medium. However, the
Error Processor and Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine interface. anime version of Kusanagi toned down the cartoonlike elements and
Throughout the manga, Shirow explores themes of identity and desexualised her. The makers noted she was meant to be “feminine, not
what it is to be human, as well as religion and the consequences of female” and gave her an older body with a doll-like feel – she’s perfect,
technology. One of the main questions asked is what it means to be wide-eyed and expressionless.
human in a cybernetic body. However, as complex as the subject matter Ghost in the Shell’s environment, too, is essential to the anime’s
©PARAMOUNT PICTURES / ©PRODUCTION I.G/SHOCHIKU

may sound, the story isn’t hard to understand. The manga is littered iconography. Although many fans believe the film to be set in a
with footnotes to help the reader better understand the technological futuristic Tokyo, Oshii used Hong Kong as an inspiration when creating
and societal aspects of the story. Shirow wanted Ghost in the Shell to the story’s backdrop.
walk that fine line between simple and complex, and as a result it’s a In 2004, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence was released with Mamoru
tale most can relate too and, after 28-years, Ghost in the Shell’s themes Oshii on board as writer and director. This sequel was loosely connected
are more relatable now than ever. However, it was the 1995 anime that to the manga chapter ‘Robot Rondo’ and follows Ghost in the Shell’s
really brought Shirow’s story to life in a way never seen before. Batou and Togusa after the events of the first story. Although the film

34 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_032-040_GhostInTheShell.indd 34 08/02/2017 20:38

 “ W H E R E D O E S T H E H U M A N
E L E M E N T E N D A N D T H E
R O B O T I C O N E B E G I N ”

received some praise with critics and won best sci-fi film at the 2004
Nihon SF Taisho Awards, it wasn’t as successful as it’s predecessor, with
heavy philosophical dialogue that drowned the plot.

T H E P A R T S N E E D E D
T O B E H U M A N
There are many different themes explored within Ghost in the Shell,
but one overriding question that is prevalent throughout is: what
does it meant to be human? In the 1995 anime, The Major explains:
“Just as there are many parts needed to make a human a human,
there’s a remarkable number of things needed to make an individual
what they are. A face to distinguish yourself from others. A voice you
aren’t aware of yourself. The hand you see when you awaken. The
memories of childhood, the feelings for the future. That’s not all.
There’s the expanse of the data net my cyber-brain can access. All of
that goes into making me what I am. Giving rise to a consciousness
that l call ‘me’. And simultaneously confining ‘me’ within set limits.”
There are some interesting points she touches upon here, and
philosopher Rene Descartes explored this idea as well – that the mind
and body are separate, with the mind existing on a non-physical plane.
Kusanagi is often seen plugging into the net throughout the film via a
port in the back of her neck, her body and mind then separate – so
where does the human element end and the robotic one begin?
Although The Major is almost fully robotic, there are a few brain
cells left, where the ‘human’ element is said to remain, but she often
questions her sense of self and her ghost or soul. This mental tug-of-
war between autonomous and automated aren’t just specific to Ghost
in the Shell but, returning to Descartes, raise questions human beings
©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

have asked for centuries, like what it means to have soul and whether

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 35

GM#18_032-040_GhostInTheShell.indd 35 08/02/2017 20:38

 Steven Spielberg and
DreamWorks bought the rights
to Ghost in the Shell back in
2008, it has taken nine years to
the idea of a soul exists at all or is it just a construct to help us explain
bring the movie to the screen.
our inner thoughts?
Socially, Ghost in the Shell shines a light on how human life and
technology may one day intertwine. In fact, it’s already happening.
We may not be able to physically plug ourselves into the net, but our
reliance on technology is clear as we walk around like phone zombies,
glued to our screens, our social media profiles now integral to who we
are and what we so as individuals. In Ghost in the Shell’s world, to be
fully human is almost an obsolete idea as technology has taken over,
which may serve as a grave warning as we venture into this brave
new world.

A N I N F L U E N C E O N
T H E W E S T
Ghost in the Shell’s impact on modern western filmmakers ranges
from the subtle to the obvious. Director James Cameron has praised
Ghost in the Shell and, although it’s not an obvious connection, one
may wonder where he got the idea of transferring consciousness from
one being to another in Avatar.
In A.I., however, director Steven Spielberg explores the impact of
technology on society, presenting the complications of human
automation. Whereas, films like David Cronenberg’s Existenz depicts
a confusing world where human and machine are joined, blurring
the edges of reality, as players ‘port’ themselves into a machine.
It’s the Wachowski siblings’ Matrix trilogy, though, that
unashamedly borrows from Ghost in the Shell’s themes and aesthetic.
From the green typography seen at the beginning of The Matrix to the
existential questioning of protagonist Neo (Keanu Reeves), the
Wachowski’s haven’t been shy about Ghost in the Shell as an influence
on their vision.
The story goes that when the Wachowski’s were pitching The
Matrix to producer Joel Silver they played him the 1995 anime and
simply said they wanted to do a live action version, using the essence
of the film but with real life actors – ‘a hybrid’ as Silver says. Once you
©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

know how heavily Ghost in the Shell inspired the Wachowski’s here,
you can’t unsee the comparisons.

36 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_032-040_GhostInTheShell.indd 36 08/02/2017 20:38

 DATA BANK: THE CAST

With Ghost in the Shell arriving in cinemas 31 March, meet the cast set to step into
the shoes of the franchise’s most recognisable characters.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON // T H E M A J O R
Johansson is the cyborg counter-terrorist field
commander who leads task force Section 9
against criminals and hackers. Like the original,
she has a synthetic body with a human brain
that is searching for meaning as to who and what
she is. She is only known as The Major in the film
and none of the press materials released have
referred to her as Motoko Kusanagi.

PILOU ASBÆK // B AT O U
In the manga, Batou is The Major’s second in
command. He has augmented cybernetic limbs
and a key feature in both the original and the
latest film are his robotic implanted eyes. Danish
actor Asbæk is almost unrecognizable in the role,
but if you squint hard enough you’ll notice he is, in
fact, Euron Greyjoy from Game of Thrones.

TAKESHI KITANO // C H I E F D A I S U K E A R A M A K I
Chief Daisuke Aramaki is the head of Public

Security Section 9 throughout the franchise.
Kitano is one of Japan’s most celebrated actors.
He’s starred in an array of Japanese films over
the last five decades including Hana-bi (1997) and
Battle Royale (2000) and TV fans may recognise
him as the host of TV show Takeshi’s Castle.

MICHAEL PITT // K U Z E
In Stand Alone Complex Kuze is a suspect in

Section 9’s investigation of the Individual Eleven
and is fully cyborg – no doubt in the live action
film Kuze will be amongst Section 9’s main
antagonists. Michael Pitt is sure to bring an
intensity to the role as he is an actor known for his
diverse, sometimes dark, and dramatic roles.

CHIN HAN // T O G U S A
Togusa is another prominent member of Section
9 in the original. Bringing a more ‘human’ element
to Section 9, in the 1995 film it’s stated that he’s
the youngest member of the team, the only
family man and is the most ‘natural’, having not
undergone any cybernetic replacements. The
Singaporean actor has been around for two
decades and has starred in films such as The Dark
Knight and Restless.

JULIETTE BINOCHE // D R . O U É L E T
©PARAMOUNT PICUTRES / ©WARNER BROS

Dr. Ouélet is the head of Hanka Robotics and

is the creator and, in a way, the ‘mother’ of The
Major. French actress Binoche is a class act that
will no doubt add a sensitive touch to the film and
perhaps provide some answers for The Major.

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 37

GM#18_032-040_GhostInTheShell.indd 37 08/02/2017 20:39

 Scarlett Johansson
ACTRESS, PLAYS THE MAJOR IN GHOST IN THE SHELL

Paramount Pictures held a global trailer launch event for Ghost in the Shell in Tokyo back in November where Scarlett appeared on
stage with Director Rupert Sanders and ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano who plays Chief Daisuke Aramaki. The event opened with Taiko
drummers and included a display of guns, cars and costumes, then Scarlett chatted about playing The Major…

Were you aware of Ghost in the Shell before has been so great for such a long time, you
being cast in the movie? stand back and observe. It’s interesting. I feel
No, I didn’t know the material. When the script that acting is human. It’s all about what’s going
came to me it also came with a copy of the anime, on inside, I felt so many complicated things
and when I first saw it, it seemed quite daunting. in [Chief Daisuke] Aramaki’s presence. You
I think because the anime is so philosophical know, a feeling of shame at times, a feeling of
and I didn’t know how it would translate to a an eagerness to please, and then also a feeling
live action film, or what I could contribute to it at times like a petulant child. Having all of
exactly. But it was definitely alluring. these feelings, acting opposite somebody who
we didn’t share this language, but we shared a
You play The Major, what exactly was it that universal language. The emotional vocabulary
was alluring about this role? that we have as two actors, it was very moving.
You know, when I met with Rupert, and I It’s the beauty of being able to work on a film as
had been sent this pretty impressive visual diverse as this, you’re able to work with actors
presentation, it was just absolutely magnificent, from many different backgrounds – theatre,
and I think you will see the result of it. We dance, photography – we all shared the same
started to talk about the journey of The Major, connectivity that brings us together.
and how the character was going to be driving
the story. And I started to imagine that this was What do you want the fans of Ghost in the
a character who was really living a very unique Shell to feel going to see this movie?
experience for somebody who has an idea of who For me, I have such a soft spot for The Major
she thinks she was. And then, who she isn’t now of course, because I enter her journey of
– the life she’s living now. Then the person she self discovery. I think this film for me, even
feels she is. This sort of gnawing, clawing feeling though its set in this explosive world that’s just
she has in her ghost. Being able to play these extraordinary and so visually stunning, and so
three sides, we called it the ego and super ego, “LUCKILY I HAVE HAD A action packed, to me it’s a coming of age story
that was pretty enticing for me. LOT OF FIGHT TRAINING and about the loss of innocence, and the rebirth
you can have from that. I hope that the fans
While what goes on inside The Major is all AND WEAPONS connect with The Major the way that I connected
very cerebral, the role must have been very TRAINING FOR ALL with her.
physically demanding. What kind of training
did you have to do?
THOSE LITTLE MARVEL How does making Ghost in the Shell compare
Of course, I did a lot of training because I MOVIES. IT KIND OF to the other sci-fi roles you have played?
wanted to be able to have the physical presence I feel I grew a lot making this film. I learned a lot
of somebody who seemed very capable. And
COMES IN HANDY” about my limitations. I learned a lot about my
then, of course I actually had to be quite capable. capabilities. I think when you play a character
Luckily I have had a lot of fight training and that is some step removed from human, and
weapons training for all those little Marvel you don’t have the nuance and the tools – those
movies. So it kind of comes in handy because partnership. We both knew from those early little things that make us human – it’s just a
you know that physical vocabulary. So then it’s days that we would have to do this walking very challenging experience. There’s so much
a lot of repetition, and a lot of tactical training, hand-in-hand in order to maintain the integrity going on inside, but it’s impossible reflect on
which I’d never done before, like room clearing of the work and the mission statement that we the outside. That pairing away of that was a
and all that stuff. To just be as efficient with a made in the beginning. When I see pieces of the very unique experience for me. My hope for the
weapon as possible. film, I see the result of that teamwork. So we fans is that they get taken on a ride that is not
were each other’s partner for sure. just explosive and exciting, but allows them
How was it working with Rupert as Director? to be reflective and to be more curious about
You know, Rupert and I had, I think from the And what about working with Takeshi Kitano? themselves from watching this film. I hope it
very beginning, we were really dedicated to our I think when you work with somebody who resonates that deeply with them.
©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

38 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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 The lobby scene at the end of The Matrix mirrors the action of the
final scene of Ghost in the Shell unquestionably. Neo’s ‘birth’ as he
awakens from the Matrix bares comparisons to the first scenes of the
anime and Kusanagi’s creation. Then there are subtle things like
being plugged into the Matrix via a port in the back of the character’s
necks, the market scene in both films has the main characters
winding through crowds and a scene with watermelons being shot
and a scene in the Matrix where Neo’s bullets hit the water as he aims
towards Agent Smith closely resemble a similar scene in Ghost in the
Shell. Even the casting of Carrie-Anne Moss could be said to closely
resemble the androgyny of The Major. Ghost in the Shell’s influences
visually and thematically are obvious, so it feels right that the next
step in the Ghost in the Shell franchise’s evolution would be to have
its very own live action movie.

A R R I V A L O F G H O S T I N
T H E S H E L L 2 0 1 7
The live action film has been in the works for a while now; in 2008
Dreamworks and Steven Spielberg acquired the rights and since
then the project has been building towards release. Writers Jonathan
Herman and Jamie Moss are behind the film, with Herman winning
numerous awards for 2015’s Straight Outta Compton. Eventually,
director Rupert Sanders was brought on board and the final cast
announcements followed shortly after. In 2014 Margot Robbie was
in talks to play The Major but this fell through once Robbie was
involved with Suicide Squad, so an offer was made to Scarlett
Johansson and the rest is history.
The first trailer stirred-up a well of hope and excitement, with
Sanders’ background directing ads coming into play – his keen eye
for a beautiful shot blending perfectly with the source material as
an influence. Sanders stated at the Tokyo launch event in November
2016 that he was already a fan and had a lot of rich material to draw
upon. Despite his directing chops though, it will be the plot that
drives the film. “We didn’t want to water it down, we wanted to
keep those themes, keep those ideas, keep the cyberpunk aesthetic
to it very much alive,” Sanders assured his audience.
“In ’95, for me, first seeing Oshii’s film, it was so ahead of its
time. Really, some of those ideas are just catching up with us today.
When we are consumed with technology to the degree we are,
where does humanity sit in that new kind of technological order?

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 39

GM#18_032-040_GhostInTheShell.indd 39 08/02/2017 20:39

 STAND ALONE COMPLEX

The anime television series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone

Complex created another tempting tentacle of the Ghost in the
Shell franchise, written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama. The
series was set in the same world as the anime and manga but
the 26-episodes had a chance to explore different aspects of
cyber terrorism and the adventures of Section 9.
Set in 2030, the series was based around the various
investigations led by Section 9. Most of the crimes were related
to Super Class A hacker The Laughing Man. The series first aired
in October 2002, with writer and director Kamiyama intending
the series to run parallel to the manga and anime, although
clearly inspired by the source material.

“ T H E M A J O R D O E S N ’ T H A V E
A D E S I G N A T E D G E N D E R ,
B E I N G M O S T L Y R O B O T I C ”
We trust so much into our devices… we tell people where we are, accused of whitewashing, as it’s a practice Hollywood has been doing
what we buy, what we shop, who we talk to and that goes forever. However, Japanese people weren’t as shocked by Johansson’s
somewhere.” Sanders sheds a more positive light on humanity’s casting as it’s a western production so it’s a no-brainer that a white
trust in technology though, going on to say, “What I tried to transmit actress would be cast. It feels like a shame that the film was mired
through the film is that there’s hope in technology, it’s not an evil with the whitewashing stigma so early on in its promotion, but it
thing, it’s something that if we parent it right, it will be part of us as seems to have shaken this off on the run up to release.
humans and we won’t be obsolete.” However, arguably, the filmmakers could have cast any actor or
This year’s Ghost in the Shell has the same backdrop of the actress in this role because The Major doesn’t have a designated
original anime with The Major (Johansson) leading Section 9 against gender, being mostly robotic with very little human brain cells
cyber terrorism, however, there is also the existential questioning remaining. Of course, it would be great to see more diversity in
as Sanders describes The Major as someone coming to terms who Hollywood, but when it comes down to the cold, hard facts this is a
and what she is. western film made for western audiences and it should not distract
The casting of Johansson is perfect as she has proved her from the content – whitewashing will not be the making or breaking
versatility and cyberpunk aesthetic time and time again. From of this film.
playing mysterious deadly assassin Black Widow, to an alien
undergoing an existential crisis in Under the Skin, it’s no wonder L O O K I N G T O
Sanders has called her “one of the best actresses of her generation,”
T H E F U T U R E
channelling the “cybperpunk attitude and edge” Sanders needed in
his version of Ghost in the Shell. Although Ghost in the Shell is already a big franchise in the world of
©SHIROW MASAMUNE/PRODUCTION I.G/KODANSHA / ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

anime, many new sci-fi fans in the west will only be learning about it
B E G I N N I N G W I T H A with this release. It has always been a cult pop culture reference
C O N T R O V E R S Y amongst its core fan base, but with the imminent premiere of the
film, Ghost in the Shell will finally get the global attention it deserves.
Despite what seems like the perfect casting, there were calls of This movie is one of this year’s most anticipated releases,
whitewashing when the first image of Johansson as The Major was bringing a deep existential plot to the fore, combining it with
released. Many were critical of the decision to cast a white actress in Sander’s slick style. In a filmscape littered with big franchises and
an Asian role, but this wasn’t the only film to come under fire. popcorn-friendly fare, Ghost in the Shell looks ready to break the
In Doctor Strange Tilda Swinton was cast as the Ancient One, a mould and leave a big impression. GM
character in the original comics who is a man from Kamar-Taj, a
fictional place in the Himalayas. There are countless films that can be Ghost in the Shell is in cinemas 31 March from Paramount Pictures.

40 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_032-040_GhostInTheShell.indd 40 08/02/2017 20:40

 ™

Free Super Saver Delivery and Unlimited One-Day Delivery with Amazon Prime are available
on eligible orders. Terms and Conditions apply. See Amazon.co.uk for details.

Ad.indd 1 09/02/2017 16:52

 READING MATTERS
Words: JOHN HOULIHAN
Author of the Seraph books and ex-Editor-in-Chief of CVG.com

A STAR WARS SAGA COMES TO AN EPIC FINALE, SWASHBUCKLING, INNERNAUTS AND

WADING THROUGH A FLOODED NEW YORK MAKE UP THIS MONTH’S MATTERS…

STAR WARS AFTERMATH: EMPIRE’S END

CHUCK WENDIG
Wendig’s acclaimed trilogy, “AS THE OCEANS INEXORABLY
which spans the books Aftermath
and Life Debt, covers the time RISE, NEW YORK BECOMES A
between Return of the Jedi
and The Force Awakens, with
WEB OF CANAL S AND ISL AND
this tome chronicling the final SK YSCRAPERS”
battle, as the New Republic and
the last remnants of the Empire
concentrate around a little-known
planet called Jakku. Battlefront NEW YORK 2140
fans may have fought their way K I M S TA N L E Y R O B I N S O N
across its desert surface already, Kim Stanley Robinson has long
but this promises to be a truly epic conclusion as ex- been one of science fiction’s
Rebel Norra Wexley hunts both galactic enemy number most visionary writers and his
one, Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, and Gallius Rax, the 19 novels, which include the epic
true architect of the Rebels’ recent travails. Adding much Mars trilogy, have placed him
to the Star Wars canon and featuring some excellent at the forefront of the art. 2015’s
cameos, this series has already impressed and this will be Aurora was perhaps one of his best
essential reading for anyone who calls themselves a true yet and so this new work promises
Star Wars fan. much. As the oceans inexorably
rise, New York becomes a web of
canals and island skyscrapers,
“ADDING MUCH TO THE STAR but the resilient residents adapt,
WARS CANON AND FEATURING and Robinson explores this bustling new metropolis in
a series of interrelated tales, told through the eyes of its
SOME EXCELLENT CAMEOS” many diverse inhabitants.

A CONJURING OF LIGHT THE WANDERERS

V. E . S C H WA B MEG HOWRE Y
To say this sequel to A Gathering Howrey’s work has already won
of Shadows is eagerly awaited is a great deal of praise in the US
something of an understatement. and so a UK publication date is
Schwab’s ability to combine long overdue. Three astronauts
swashbuckling adventure with are on a mission to Mars, but how
convincing world building makes will they cope with the pressures
for a hugely enjoyable read, of a 17 month voyage to the red
especially when it involves four planet? So far, so very Martian,
interconnected dimensional but the twist here is that they are
versions of London. The delicate in a closed simulation back on
balance between the four Londons Earth, being observed before they
has been broken and now darkness get anywhere near a Mars mission
engulfs the Maresh Empire. Can hero Kell face up to the launch pad. Or are they? With their increasingly fraught
challenge of divided allegiances and how will he deal with interactions and retreat into their inner-selves, what is
the fallout when an ancient adversary returns to claim a real and what is fantasy in this intriguing exploration of
troubled inheritance? a strange new frontier.

42 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_042_Reading_Matters.indd 42 08/02/2017 20:40

 BROWSE ONLINE At

ELSEWHEN.PRESS
Science Fiction / Fantasy
Independent publisher of Speculative Fiction

An intriguing series that will have you believing in alchemy…

September Weekes is accustomed to being teased and bullied because
of her white hair and unusual name. But when she is transported to the
mystical land of Gwlad, where the planets really do revolve around the
Earth, the power of the four elements is tangible, and good must fight
to prevent the spread of evil, she is presented with deadlier challenges.

September Weekes
returns this year in
Cold Fire

Elsewhen Press Paperbacks available online and from good bookshops

eBooks available on Kindle, iTunes, Kobo, Google Play

Ad.indd 1 09/02/2017 16:51

 WE’RE GOING BACK… WAY,
WAY BACK INTO THE MISTS
OF ELECTRONIC GAMING
TIME. BEFORE SONY, BEFORE
COMMODORE, EVEN BEFORE
ATARI. NO, NOT AS FAR AS THE
DINOSAURS, BUT CLOSE. THIS
WAS 1977, THE TIME OF THE
‘ELECTRONIC COLOUR TV GAME’,
OR PONG TO YOU AND ME!

REMEMBERING…

THE ELECTRONIC
COLOUR T V GAME
WHAT THE HELL IS THE THE ELECTRONIC COLOUR TV GAME?
While over the the States the new cult of ‘gamers’ as they wouldn’t be called until the Noughties, were
enjoying their new Atari VCS consoles, but they were expensive ($199 back then, the equivalent of $790
today), it would be another year before the Atari console would make it to Europe. So some enterprising
electronics companies in Hong Kong sprung into action to satisfy the Christmas market of 1977, the
result was the ‘Electronic Colour TV Game’ – a console, of sorts. It didn’t take cartridges or plug in
joypads, instead it came with four versions of ‘Tennis’. Or Pong if you ask us, as that is what we will
always call the game of batting a square between two rectangles!

WHY DID YOU WANT IT?

Pong shook the world in 1972 (really, that far back? It’s the same age as me! – Ed), people queuing up to
fill these new ‘arcade machines’ with coins to play the simple table tennis-style game of batting a pixel
back and forth. To have the same experience in the home was mind-blowing for those used to Mouse
Trap and Chess. Multiple versions of the tennis game flooded toy shops, all essentially a variation on a
theme. The one we’ve got here plays ‘tennis’, ‘hockey’, ‘handball’ and ‘squash’. The difference between
each is minimal, adding in a few rectangles here and there to mix it up a bit. Using the switches you
can also change the size of the ‘bats’ and double the speed for die-hard gamers.

IS IT AS AWESOME AS YOU REMEMBER?

Sometimes simplicity is the key. Forget your polygon counts, multiplayer thingamees and role playing
wotsits – two bats, a ‘ball’ and two dials to turn to bat back and forth between each other is actually a
really fun way of whiling away some time. The simple gameplay still holds up today, the challenge in
2017 is finding a TV that will allow you to plug the aerial lead in, then searching through channels of
analogue static to eventually find the channel the game is broadcasting on (VHF Channel 3 or UHF
Channel 30, if you’re asking).

CAN I GET ONE?

Being almost 40 years old, these machines are getting more rare, but they were built to last with simple
components, so if you do find one, chances are it will still be working as well as that Christmas day in
1977. We actually had a lot more fun with the simple gameplay on offer here than we did replaying the
later Atari 2600 with its Pac-Man and Pitfall. KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid!

44 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_044-045_RetroGame.indd 44 08/02/2017 20:45

 RETRO TOY

Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .ai Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .ai

GEEKY
MONKEY
KEEP UP WITH THE
LATEST GEEK TOY NEWS
– RETRO AND MODERN

“THE ONE WE’ VE GOT HERE PL AYS

‘TENNIS’, ‘HOCKEY ’, ‘HANDBALL’
AND ‘SQUASH’. THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN EACH IS MINIMAL”

The dials detach from the

console on wires so two players
can duke it out with their
paddles at a distance from the
TV, avoiding square eyes!

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 45

GM#18_044-045_RetroGame.indd 45 08/02/2017 20:46

 COMIC CRITIQUE
AS 2017 TRUNDLES ONWARD FOR THE COMIC WORLD, LET’S HAVE A PEEK AT SEVERAL
NEW RELEASES TO EXAMINE WHICH TITLES BRING A LITTLE LATE WINTER CHEER…

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1-3 Batman ’66 Meets Wonder Woman ’77 #1
S T O R Y, K I E R O N G I L L E N // A R T, K E V WA L K E R S T O R Y, J E F F PA R K E R // A R T, D AV I D H A H N & K A R L K E S E L
// P U B L I S H E R , M A R V E L C O M I C S // P U B L I S H E R , D C C O M I C S

The first thing that stands out about Marvel’s solo series for the red- The incarnation of Batman and Wonder Woman here requires a
hot character of Aphra, is how disappointingly bland the artwork considerable suspension of disbelief. As with the previous retro
is. Like many of the publisher’s current efforts, it really does little to appearances, the reward is a dizzying mash-up of fun and silliness.
distinguish itself. Thankfully Gillen’s deft scripting prevents the book Hahn and Kesel’s clean, exuberant artwork also provokes several
from sinking, giving Aphra some snappy dialogue. Star Wars fans hearty laughs. As a bonus, the variant cover by Alex Ross is an
will find this series essential, but for others, it’s a bit of good fun. absolute doozy.

Ghost Rider #1-3 IvX #0-3

S T O R Y, F E L I P E S M I T H // A R T, D A N I L O S . B E Y R U T H & T R A D D S T O R Y, C H A R L E S S O U L E , J E F F L E M I R E // A R T, J AV I G A R R O N ,
M O O R E // P U B L I S H E R , M A R V E L C O M I C S L E I N I L Y U , K E N N E T H R O C A F O R T // P U B L I S H E R , M A R V E L

Long term fans of Ghost Rider have repeatedly bemoaned the Given the overkill of ‘event’ crossovers in recent times, perhaps it’s
inconsistent treatment that the Spirit of Vengeance has been our fault, but it definitely feels like a lot of readers are suffering a
subjected to. The focus on guest stars is jarring, while Reyes hangover. Still, there’s a wealth of superb characters depicted in
himself feels like a flimsy, stock ‘nice guy’ looking out for his this title, several of whom we’d like to see play a major role going
brother. Moore’s grotesque artwork in the back-up story is forward. At this point however, it doesn’t feel as if the prolonged
particularly a low-point. Just awful. build-up to the X-Men/Inhumans colliding, is quite being matched.

46 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_046_ComicReviews.indd 46 08/02/2017 20:47

 I WAS IN STAR WARS TOO!

MEENA TILL S
A NEW FEATURE WHERE WE CHAMPION THE ACTORS BEHIND THE MASK, THIS
MONTH IT’S THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC SENATOR FROM MON CALA PLAYED BY
ENGLISH ACTOR PAUL BATEMAN…

A C T O R , PA U L B AT E M A N // S TA R R E D I N , S TA R WA R S : E P I S O D E I I I – R E V E N G E O F T H E S I T H // Y E A R , 2 0 0 5

T “THE FISH WAS

he senator for Mon Cala during the Clone Wars,
Meena Tills appeared most prominently in Star
Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith during DEFINITELY A DUDE
the Coruscant Opera scene. A member of the Republic WHEN I PLAYED HIM”
and the galactic senate, Tills was a rare example of a
principled and dedicated alien politician. PAUL BATEMAN
Here on Earth the practical realities of bringing
Meena to life began. With the key shooting taking
place in Australia at Fox Studios, followed by pick-ups
at Shepperton Studios in the UK, the role of Meena
eventually fell to Nottingham born Paul Bateman. An
Emmy nominated Concept Designer and Art Director,
Paul is also known for his frequent appearances on screen
– Gladiator, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, The Dark Knight
Rises and many more. A lifelong Star Wars fan he jumped
at the opportunity to become a part of Sith, realising it
would likely be a very rare chance to become an on-
screen part of the saga.
“I got a call out of the blue. The guy who played the
character in Australia wasn’t coming over to the UK
for pick-ups, and fortunately we happened to have the
same measurements! We had a fun day of rehearsals
and costume fittings at Shepperton, and my buddy Dave
(Elsey, creature maker extraordinaire), filled me in on
the character. At the time she was just described on the
call sheet as ‘Mon Cal Senator 1’. By the way, the fish
was definitely a dude when I played him! It was a lovely
surprise to find out he would be named after my lovely
friend over at the Lucasfilm Image Archives, Tina Mills.
The next few days on set predominately involved
a huge blue staircase that Anakin would race up and
down on his way to a meeting with Chancellor Palpatine.
Wearing the mechanical mask was an interesting
experience. It weighed more than you’d think, the gears
clack and whir in your ears, they’re a real mechanical
marvel. It’s like having a typewriter tied to your head. I
almost passed out from lack of air before I got accustomed
to it. George Lucas arrived on set bright and early on the
first day and I’d never met him in person before. I was
standing on stage holding my ‘head’ and as he turned
around he smiled and said ‘Morning Paul’ so I replied
‘Morning George’. Talking later with Dave I realised
he must have mistook me for Paul Davies, the guy who
played Meena in Australia, as it turns out we share the
same beard too!” GM
©LUCASFILM

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 47

GM#18_047_IWasInStarWars.indd 47 08/02/2017 20:48

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GM#18_048-049_Subs.indd 49 08/02/2017 20:49

 10
NINTENDO SWITCH MAY BE
SHAPING UP TO BE THE YEAR’S
MUST-HAVE CONSOLE, AND YOU
CAN GUARANTEE IT’S GOING TO
SELL OUT AT LAUNCH, BUT THOSE

R E A S O N S TO
TYPING LOUDLY ON SOCIAL MEDIA
SEEM TO HAVE SOME SERIOUS
ISSUES WITH NINTENDO’S

B I TC H A B O U T ATTEMPT TO RIGHT THE WRONGS

OF THE DISASTROUS WII U LIFE

NINTENDO
CYCLE. WHAT IS THEIR BEEF?

SWITCH
H
TC

I
W
-S
1-2
1 2
THE PRICE IS (NOT) RIGHT GAMES? WHAT GAMES?
S
Right now the Nintendo Switch is priced at £279.99, which M
The console will launch with just two major first party

AR
isn’t the most eye-popping of console launch prices we’ve titles – the long awaited The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the
seen in recent years (the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were Wild and the rather gimmicky, and super casual 1-2-Switch.
more expensive at launch), but the problem with those numbers Yes, that really is it, save for a handful of other third-party
is that you can pick up Sony or Microsoft’s machine for much less, releases equally as weak. Frankly, it’s a bit of a shambles, so
both of which are twice as powerful and also happen to include much so Nintendo’s own Tatsumi Kimishima has had to speak
a whopping great back catalogue of games. Nintendo is a family out in defence of the publisher’s thin roster. “Some of those
friendly brand, and the Switch would appear to be the publisher’s who have seen this line-up have expressed the opinion that
last ditch attempt to right the ailing ship after the failure of the the launch line-up is weak,” said Kimishima. “Our thinking in
Wii U, so by launching at that particular price point it would arranging the 2017 software line-up is that it is important
seem Nintendo has only gone and priced itself out of that to continue to provide new titles regularly without long
‘family friendly’ zone it so desperately needs to corner, gaps. This encourages consumers to continue actively
so don’t be surprised if we see a price drop playing the system, maintains buzz, and spurs
before the year is out to put it in line continued sales momentum for Nintendo
with Sony and Microsoft for Switch.” They said the same thing about
the holidays. the Wii U and we all know how that
one turned out.
IPS
CL R
PE
IP
SN
©NINTENDO

50 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_050-053_Switch.indd 50 08/02/2017 20:03

 J O Y- C O N C O
N TR
OL
LE
R

NINTENDO SWITCH

3
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
We’ll tell you what’s in the box – no bloody game is what!

4
One of the biggest eyebrow raisers at the official unveiling of
the console was that Nintendo had opted not to include a game
alongside the machine, which means early adopters will have to
fork out an additional wedge of cash to actually play something
on day one. Seems a little odd, right? Not according to Nintendo of
America president Reggie Fils-Aime, who explained the decision
was made because the publisher wanted gamers to be able to
PRICEY PERIPHERALS
purchase the console with the games that they wanted, and had
it opted to bundle a game inside the box it would have meant If you thought the lack of software, no bundled game and
either removing the likes of the Switch Dock or the Joy-Con price were bad, just wait until you start shopping around
controllers, or raising the price. Fair enough, I suppose for additional peripherals so that you can invite your friends
we can’t really argue with that, but is it too much around for a little bout of multiplayer. The teeny weeny Joy-Con
to ask for a demo disc to give controllers (two of which come with the console) will set you
gamers a taste of what’s out back a small fortune. A single controller will cost you £42.99,
there on shelves? while a pair of controllers retails at £74.99. Would you prefer to
play games using a standard controller more akin to the likes
of Xbox or PlayStation? No problem, that’ll be £64.99. If you
want to move the Switch around your house without having
to unplug your Dock from your TV, then an additional
E
UX

Switch Dock will cost you just shy of one hundred quid.
EL

These prices are painful, and make the so-called

8D

‘reasonable entry price point’ that Nintendo

is going with feel like a little bit of a sour
T
MARIO KAR

deal if you ask us.

5
XE
LIMITED STORAGE
NO
LA B
This is a weird one, and probably down to E
D
Nintendo’s want to cost-cut, but the internal RO
CH
storage that comes with the console is really, really NIC
LES 2
limited, especially in this day and age of digital downloads.
Clocking in at a meagre 32GB, the Nintendo Switch is
pretty tiny, which means most of us who download titles
will find ourselves running out of space pretty damn fast.
Thankfully Nintendo is allowing us to expand the 32GB
memory with Micro SD cards that come at a reasonable
price compared to the likes of the other peripherals
on offer. Another plus point (see, we’re not all doom
and gloom!) is that if you buy a boxed game it won’t
require you to install it on the console’s hard drive,
which means the 32GB shouldn’t pose too much
of a problem, provided you keep a watchful
eye on what you’re downloading from
the Nintendo Store.

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 51

GM#18_050-053_Switch.indd 51 08/02/2017 20:04

 10
RE A SONS TO
D
U

CK
HU
BITCH ABOU T

NT
NINTENDO

–V
SWITCH

IRT
UA L C O N S O L E
6
(LACK OF) THIRD PARTY SUPPORT
When the Wii launched and became a global phenomenon
every third party publisher was clambering at Nintendo’s
door to get behind the console and release a game on it. When

7
the Wii U launched third party support was pretty solid too,
but as time passed more and more publishers began jumping
ship, with the exception of Ubisoft who has always stood by the
publisher. The Switch situation is very similar; there really aren’t
many third party games to get excited about over the coming
year (maybe this will change come the E3 games show). Most
of the titles are either ports of aging releases like Skyrim or
A PAID ONLINE SERVICE
Rayman Legends, with no sign of a Call of Duty or AAA big
budget release in sight. This is worrying, because even Alright, we know that Microsoft and Sony both tout
though the Switch can stay afloat on first party a paid service for their consoles that’s mandatory
titles, to really succeed it desperately for gamers that want to avail of the online multiplayer
needs major third party modes included in games these days, but Nintendo’s newly
support behind it. announced paid subscription service seems a little, well, odd
if you ask us. Not a whole lot of information was made public
at the time of writing this article other than the fact that
subscribers will get to download a NES or SNES game (which
now includes online play) for free. Sounds good, right? Not
so fast. Apparently these games are only free for a month,
and Nintendo’s wording on the service suggests that
these titles will be wiped from your console once the
allotted time is up. Oh, and you’ll also get online
lobby and voice chat – but only through use
of a phone app. We already have an app
that does that and it’s
called Skype.
N2
OO

8
T
LA
SP

WHAT, NO MARIO?
As expected, Nintendo did announce a new Mario game
for the Switch when it revealed the console’s release
date and price point, which is excellent news for fans of
Y

the pint-sized plumber. However, the biggest surprise of the

SE
YS

announcement was that the game wasn’t going to be a launch

OD

title, and would instead arrive sometime during the holiday 2017
release schedule, which means we probably won’t be seeing
RIO

this one until Christmas, provided it doesn’t get delayed. It’s a

MA

kick in the teeth, but regardless the game does look fantastic,
SUPER

plucking Mario from the Mushroom Kingdom and dropping

him into a land that looks remarkably like New York City.
He’ll have a little help along the way in the form of a new
cap that would appear to grant him new abilities, but
other than that particular nugget of information
not much else is known about this new
adventure.
©NINTENDO

52 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_050-053_Switch.indd 52 08/02/2017 20:05

 NINTENDO SWITCH

9
FIRST PARTY RELEASES
After launch, the next major first party title to arrive
on the Switch is Super Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which is really
just a port of the Wii U game with added tracks. While it’ll be
awesome to play Mario Kart on the Switch the big issue we
have is that it’ll be a full priced title. The same could be said for

10
the fact that the Switch version of Zelda is twenty quid dearer
than the Wii U version. After Mario Kart we’re getting the daft,
but fun, ARMS, which doesn’t really feel like a system seller, as
well as Splatoon 2, which plays more like Splatoon 1.5 rather
than a full blown sequel. Sure, Super Mario Odyssey will
be awesome when it ships, but where are the rest of the TECH PROBLEMS
killer Nintendo titles like Donkey Kong and Metroid
that could guarantee a raft of console sales? Come While the Switch is a pretty awesome design we still have
on, Nintendo! a whole host of issues with the tech behind the machine.
For one, it’s nowhere near powerful enough, which could lead
TH to some serious issues down the line for third party support.
E If developers can’t figure out how to port new games to the
L
machine we could have a Wii U situation all over again, and this
EG

is something Nintendo does not want to happen. Battery life

EN

is problematic too. You only get around 2.5 hours of play time
D
OF

when playing a current gen title like Zelda, whereas you get
ZE

around six or so hours when bashing less power hungry

L DA

titles like the NES and SNES downloads. Another tech

hurdle is the fact that you can’t play and charge the
: B R E AT H O F T H E W

Joy-Cons at the same time, unless of course you go

out and spend thirty pounds on the Joy-Con
Grip. No thanks!
ILD

DON’T GET US WRONG, THE GEEKY MONKEY

TEAM HAS ALWAYS BEEN A BIG FAN OF
NINTENDO. WE HAD AN NES UNDER OUR
YOUR OPINION
CHRISTMAS TREE, WE QUEUED UP AND
BOUGHT TWO SNES ON DAY ONE (ONE FOR Will you be buying a
A MAGAZINE WE WERE WORKING ON!), THE Nintendo Switch? We’ve
got a post about it on our
GAMECUBE IS STILL ONE OF THE GREATEST
Facebook and Twitter
CONSOLES OF ALL TIME… WHICH MAKES IT ALL pages, drop us a line and
THE MORE FRUSTRATING TO SEE NINTENDO tell us what you think
TODAY SEEMINGLY REPEATING ITS WII U of the new console and
Nintendo’s launch.
MISTAKES. COME ON BIG N, SORT IT OUT!

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 53

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 MA RS AT TACKS
// 1996

directed by
TIM BURTON
“I WANT THE PEOPLE TO KNOW
starring
THAT THEY STILL HAVE TWO OUT
PRESIDENT JAMES DALE // JACK NICHOLSON
PROFESSOR DONALD KESSLER // PIERCE BROSNAN
OF THREE BRANCHES OF THE
MICHAEL J. FOX // JASON STONE
GOVERNMENT WORKING FOR
When Tim Burton was given the opportunity to make
a Martian invasion movie he jumped at the chance.
THEM, AND THAT AIN’T BAD.”
PRESIDENT DALE
He wanted to pay homage to the alien B-movies of
the 1950s like Plan 9 from Outer Space and Invaders
from Mars, using stop-motion animation similar
to the classic Jason and the Argonauts. When he
delivered his plan to Warner Bros though, asking
for $100 million, they must have choked on their
skinny lattes. He was sent away with a cheque for
$75 million and told to scale back the production. No
worldwide destruction, it was kept to three cities,
no stop-motion animation, ILM got involved and
created the aliens from CGI, Burton got to keep his
A-list cast though, and it’s mighty impressive. Jack
Nicholson said he would be involved if he could play
all the roles – he got two in President Dale and Art
Land, a Vegas developer. Glenn Close is First Lady,
Pierce Brosnan as Professor Donald Kessler, the list
goes on! Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica-
Parker, Michael J Fox, Natalie Portman and even Tom
Jones get a look-in!
The result is a joy of a movie. Mars Attacks!
hit the 1996 holiday crowds in the US, releasing
on 28 February 1997 in the UK, and is so chock full
of homage to those classic alien movies, witty
one-liners and the crème de la crème of Hollywood
special effects with both Industrial Light & Magic
and Warner Digital working on the movie, it’s a
geek’s dream!
Martian spaceships are seen circling Earth and
the President arranges a meeting. Where? Nevada
of course. Through a Martian translation machine
the alien Ambassador tells the world they come in
peace, inspiring a hippie to let a dove go to show our
peaceful intentions too – then the Martian leader
shoots the bird from the sky and starts a riot, taking
out quite a chunk of the crowd!
If you’ve not seen Mars Attacks! make it your
geeky retro movie this weekend – it still comes high
on our list of classics!
©WARNER BROS

GM#18_054-055_EyeCandy_MarsAttacks.indd 54 08/02/2017 21:38

GM#18_054-055_EyeCandy_MarsAttacks.indd 55 08/02/2017 21:38
 I’M FROM ‘THE REAL WORLD’!

REAL NAME GWEN POOLE // FIRST APPEARANCE DEADPOOL’S SECRET SECRET WARS #2 (17 JUNE 2015)

Having first appeared in her own comicbook in

January 2016, it doesn’t take the cosplaying world
long to spot a great character and create a costume
for them. Check out Alana Waffles over the page.
©MARVEL

56 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_056-057_Gwenpool.indd 56 08/02/2017 21:39

 GWENPOOL
BACK FROM THE DEAD AND GIVING EVERYONE’S
FAVORITE WALL CRAWLER A RUN FOR HIS MONEY,
WATCH OUT… HERE COMES GWENPOOL!

Words: RUSSELL SHEATH

E
verything about comicdom says that, on paper, there’s no way the character of
Gwenpool should exist, let alone become the phenomenon she has become, but
there’s no denying that from the most obscure beginnings, Gwenpool is here to
stay. When Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker’s tragic and long departed first love, found new
popularity when she was resurrected as Spider-Gwen, Marvel commissioned some of
its biggest artists to create Gwen Stacy themed variant covers for a host of its titles
which appeared on shelves back in 2015.
For his contribution, long time Marvel artist Chris Bachalo (Doctor Strange,
Uncanny X-Men) chose to merge Gwen Stacey with Marvel’s ever popular, wise
cracking ‘merc with a mouth’, Deadpool. The result became… Gwenpool, appearing
for the first time on the cover of Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #2.
Like Spider-Gwen before her, Gwenpool’s costume would prove a mash-up and a
variation on the classic, Rob Liefeld designed Deadpool outfit, both of which are an
unqualified hit with cosplayers and convention goers, the world over.
Gwenpool proved such a smash that a backstory was created to transform the
cover star into a fully fledged Marvel Universe character in her own right,
appearing in Howard The Duck #1 and then starring in her own spin off series, The
DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS Unbelievable Gwenpool.
Taking a lead from the Merc With a Mouth, Gwenpool Gwenpool’s fictional origin would prove as quirky as her real world creation as
breaks the fourth wall and firmly believes that she is Gwendolyn ‘Gwen’ Poole emerged from a world where the Marvel characters inhabit
a ‘real’ person who inhabits a comic book universe. stories in comic books, into a universe where those characters are real.
We don’t know how Gwen arrived in this alternate Armed with a knowledge about this ‘real’ Marvel Universe she has gained from
reality, or why, but then, that’s part of the charm of the reading comics, not to be left behind, Gwen, following a case of mistaken identity,
character and her adventures. ended up with a costume derived from Deadpool’s and combined with the color of her
hair, pink, set off into the Marvel Universe. Albeit a universe where Gwen firmly
WHERE IS SHE NOW? believes that she is living in the fictional comic book world that inhabited her comics
As a costumed mercenary with no training and zero from her ‘real’ life.
powers Gwenpool is making her way though the Exploding beyond the confines of her cover star beginnings, Gwenpool has shown
Marvel Universe in the only way she knows how, that, much like Deadpool before her, even an absurd but smartly written book, with its
kicking ass and using her Insider knowledge of the tongue planted firmly in its cheek, can propel even the most unlikely character to
Marvel characters to her advantage. Gwenpool comics megastardom. Aided by a visually striking appearance, the character is already
appears monthly in The Unbelievable Gwenpool. starring in games, and as toys and statues, and seems here to stay. GM

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 57

GM#18_056-057_Gwenpool.indd 57 08/02/2017 21:39

 “WHAT AM I
DOING? I’M THE
HERO, RIGHT?
I’M IN COMIC

GM#18_058-059_CosplayCentre.indd 58
BOOK WORLD. I
GOT A COSTUME.
SOMEONE’S
READING THIS…?”
GWENPOOL

08/02/2017 20:51
GM#18_058-059_CosplayCentre.indd 59
COSPLAYER // ALANA WAFFLES

Hey! I’m Alana Waffles! I am a Canadian cosplayer who has

been attending conventions internationally for over six years!
My con going and costume making all started with my love
for Star Trek, but it has become so much more than that
with comics, anime, videogames and all my other fandoms!
You may also have seen me as Abby Chase aka Danger
Girl appearing at conventions with cover artist supreme J.
Scott Campbell, on the recent cosplay variant cover for ‘The
Unbelievable Gwenpool’ or from my cosplay tutorials at my
instagram alanawaffles – come say “Hi!”

LIKES WAFFLES (DUH), CREPES, OMLETTES, PANCAKES

DISLIKES BURNT TOAST, HOT GLUE GUN BURNS

08/02/2017 20:51
GEEKYMONKEY
 DON’T MISS

[THE BIG ONE]

Logan
// P R E M I E R E D AT E , 3 M A R C H // S T U D I O , 2 0 T H C E N T U R Y F O X // D I R E C T O R , J A M E S M A N G O L D
// S TA R R I N G , H U G H J A C K M A N , PAT R I C K S T E WA R T, R I C H A R D E . G R A N T

T “SEEING JACKMAN AND PATRICK

he hugely anticipated Logan arrives on screens this month,
bringing with it a much darker, grittier and downright
depressing version of the iconic Marvel character than STEWART LIKE THIS AFTER ALL
we’ve ever seen before. This Wolverine is dying, he’s suffering
psychologically and all he wants to do is curl up and hide
THESE YEARS IS TOUGH”
from the world, something the film explores at the outset, in
particular the first 40 minutes, which is what Geeky Monkey
clamped its eyes on at a special preview event a little while back. factor and the deep psychological damage of years of battle.
The Wolverine trilogy of films began back in 2009 with the This miserable existence is of course thrown into turmoil when
awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Logan is the third and final the two are tasked with helping a young mutant with a short
instalment, and is set to be a super hero film unlike any other. It fuse (just check out the trailer) and a dangerous past tied to
attempts to step away from the lavish set pieces that plague fables government experiments. We won’t go into much more detail
set in the world of masked heroes in favour of a smaller, more than that for fear of spoiling the film, but suffice to say this is
intimate narrative. It’s an approach that director James Mangold Wolverine like you’ve never seen him before. He’s a shambles of
insisted on from the get-go when he pitched his original idea for a man, and seeing Jackman and Patrick Stewart like this after
Logan to 20th Century Fox. “I said, ‘I want to make Little Miss all these years is tough to watch. Sure, it may be a standalone
Sunshine with Logan, Charles Xavier, and X-23’.” film in the X-Men universe, but it doesn’t make it any easier.
“[I wanted to] trap these three super heroes in a van It’s particularly hard going watching Professor X – the beloved
driving on a highway in the year 2029 and see what happens. father of the X-Men – struggling with his debilitating illness
The idea is to very much enjoy the interfacing of these and the violent seizures that come with it.
characters that are usually up against presidents of the United Where it fits into the timeline established by the other
States and villains from another planet, or another time zone films is unclear right now, but what we do know for certain
or time age and actually just have them dealing with gasoline is that this is Jackman’s final outing as Wolverine, and he was
dependence and convenience store clerks and bank tellers. To determined to make it the most memorable one yet.
me, that’s interesting, to suddenly plunge them into our world.” “I said this was my last one and they said make the
The film is indeed set in the year 2029 and takes place in movie that you want to make. And so Jim [Mangold] and I had
a world where mutant births have become extremely rare and this blank canvas and we wanted to make something really
the X-Men are long gone (presumably dead). All that remains different; definitely tonally different. I kept thinking The
of humanity’s super-powered defenders are Professor Charles Wrestler and Unforgiven.” GM
Xavier, who is now old and struggling with dementia, and
Logan, who takes care of him while dealing with his own You can see Logan on cinema screens 28 February from 20th
©20TH CENTURY FOX

troubling issues, namely a reduced (sometimes defunct) healing Century Fox.

60 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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 w w w.geeky mon key.tv 61

GM#18_060-064_DontMiss.indd 61 08/02/2017 20:54

 O U T T H I S M O N T H // M O V I E S

KONG: SKULL ISLAND

It was beauty killed the beast…

I
t’s a bumper month for film fans this month. First up on 3 WHAT A BRICK! Out now
March is Fist Fight, which launches alongside Logan, a loose  The LEGO Batman Movie
remake of the cult Eighties comedy Three O’ Clock High, Before you start your March
// WARNER BROS
starring It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s Charlie Day and pilgrimage to the cinema to
Ice Cube as two teachers about to come to blows in the high 3 March
check out the huge roster of films
school from hell. That same weekend sees the arrival of the  Logan
on offer, be sure to check out the
Headshot, an Indonesian martial arts flick starring The Raid’s // 20TH CENTURY FOX
hilarious spin-off of The LEGO
 Fist Fight
Iko Uwais as an amnesiac who is nursed back to health by Movie, clevery titled The LEGO // WARNER BROS
a doctor only for his past to come back and haunt him. The Batman Movie, starring a whole  Headshot
following weekend sees the return of King Kong in the hugely host of top tier talent including // ARROW FILMS
anticipated Kong: Skull Island, which we covered in vast detail Will Arnett as The Dark Knight  Viceroy’s House
in the last issue of Geeky Monkey. The film, which really needs and Zach Galifianakis as The // PATHÉ
no explaining, hopes to kick-start a series of giant monster Joker. You would be a fool to think
movie shared universe that will eventually culminate in King that these LEGO movies are just 10 March
Kong Vs Godzilla in 2020. for kids as they are packed full of  I .T.
On the 17 March Disney’s live action take on Beauty geeky nods and winks that only a // THE MOVIE PARTNERSHIP
and the Beast opens worldwide and we expect this one to do  Kong: Skull Island
die-hard Batman fan will fathom.
huge numbers, just like last year’s The Jungle Book, which // WARNER BROS
Hardcore review aggregation
already has a sequel in development for launch next year. If  The Chamber
website Rotten Tomatoes has the // STUDIOCANAL
musicals aren’t your thing don’t fret it, because Universal’s movie pegged at 97% approval,  The Creeping Garden
Sundance smash hit and excellent horror thriller Get Out so this is truly something that // ARROW FILMS
opens. We don’t want to go into any detail on this one to save all Adult Fans Of LEGO are going  Rules Don’t Apply
the surprise, but if you’re a fan of twists, turns and lashing of to love! // 20TH CENTURY FOX
terror then we can’t recommend this film enough.
Then not one, but two cult small screen shows get the big 15 March
screen treatment. First up is CHiPs, starring Dax Shepard and A Silent Voice
Michael Pena as highway patrol motorcycle officers hot on the // NATIONAL AMUSEMENTS
heels of a sadistic ex-cop and gang of hitmen. The second is
Power Rangers, which needs no introduction. This is the first 17 March
in a series of movies coming out under the Lionsgate label, B eauty and the Beast
so all eyes will be on the Power Ranger’s opening weekend // WALT DISNEY
both here and abroad seeing as the studio really needs a new G
 et Out
franchise now that The Hunger Games has wrapped up. GM // UNIVERSAL PICTURES
©WARNER BROS

62 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_060-064_DontMiss.indd 62 08/02/2017 20:54

 // G A M E S

MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA HORIZON ZERO DAWN

Off to the Andromeda galaxy…

I GHOST RECON WILDLANDS

f you were left deflated by the conclusion to Mass Effect 3, 24 February
then don’t worry. Its successor, Mass Effect Andromeda,  LEGO Worlds [PS4, XB1]
won’t be letting any of the third instalment’s three possible // WARNER BROS INTERACTIVE
Would you be surprised to learn
endings ruin your fun or, indeed, require you to even that the new Tom Clancy is also
remember what the hell even happened. It’s set 600 years 3 March
set in an open world? Surprise!
later, so everyone you cared about will be dead. It takes place T he Legend of Zelda:
Because it is, which is great news
in the Andromeda galaxy rather than the Milky Way, so you Breath of the Wild [WiiU, NS]
if your a fan of the Ghost Recon // NINTENDO
won’t be able to revisit old locations to see how they’ve faired. tactical shooter series, but found
Storywise, all you have to know is that humanity is looking it claustrophobic, or would have 1 March
for a new home and, as a Pathfinder, it’s your job to command enjoyed Metal Gear Solid V a lot H orizon: Zero Dawn [PS4]
the starship Tempest and explore strange new worlds, seek out more had it been loosely based // SONY
new life and new civilisations. And engage in a lot of cover- on the works of the now dead
based combat, obviously. Practically everything you need to Tom rather than Hideo Kojima’s 7 March
sustain your journey you’ll have to find, steal or craft, so as very much alive eccentricity. Set T
 om Clancy’s Ghost
long as Bioware don’t do for Mass Effect Andromeda what they in Bolivia, it puts you in charge Recon: Wildlands
did for Dragon Age Inquisition and litter environments with of a small squad of US special [PS4, XB1, PC] // UBISOFT
dull submissions like confetti at a boring wedding, we can all forces. Hard bastards tasked
look forward to countless hours of galactic enjoyment. with stealthily taking out a drug 10 March
Also out this month is another open world sci-fi action-  Nier Automata [PS4]
cartel that only exists because
RPG extravaganza, but one that’s exclusive to PlayStation // SQUARE ENIX
the US prohibits the sale of
4. Horizon: Zero Dawn has been developed by Guerrilla cocaine for recreational purposes.
Games, of Killzone fame, and has been written by the lead 14 March
Count us in. Let’s hope hope
writer of the excellent Fallout: New Vegas. Set in a post- S tar Trek: Bridge Crew
that Ubisoft does a deal with Fox [PSVR] // UBISOFT
apocalyptic future where machines have evolved to become and eventually releases some S
 tyx: Shards of Darkness
robot dinosaurs and humanity has devolved to live in iron age Predator DLC. [PS4] // MAXIMUM GAMES
settlements, it looks likes Conan meets Zoids and plays a bit
like The Witcher III, which really shouldn’t be that surprising.
23 March
Its lead quest designer worked on The Witcher’s latest and
M
 ass Effect
greatest instalment, so expect to be scanning environments to Andromeda [PS4, XB1, PC]
find clues to solve crimes, to have to learn how defeat various // ELECTRONIC ARTS
mecha-monstrosities by doing your research, and to craft
potions and set traps. Just don’t expect anyone to have sex on
a unicorn. That would look ridiculous. GM

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 63

GM#18_060-064_DontMiss.indd 63 08/02/2017 20:54

 // T V

MARVEL’S IRON FIST

The power of the fiery Iron Fist…

T
he biggest TV to hit screens this month is Marvel’s latest STAYING LUCKY Streaming
Netflix super hero show Iron Fist. Danny Rand (Finn D irk Gently’s Holistic
Jones) is a billionaire Buddist monk who has been on a Detective Agency
DI Harry Clayton (James Nesbutt)
soul-searching mission. However, when he returns back to // NETFLIX
isn’t your usual run of the mill
T
 he Man in the High
New York to reclaim his family legacy after being missing for super hero. After receiving a Castle, Season 2
15 years he finds himself making the tough choice between his strange ancient bracelet from a // AMAZON PRIME
duties as man and hero. mysterious woman, Clayton is
TV fans who aren’t well versed in the comics won’t know granted the power of luck. The 22 February
much about Iron Fist, but the beauty of Marvel’s run of Netflix idea for the series was spawned S
 leepy Hollow, Season 4
shows is that they’ve breathed new life into little known and from Stan Lee’s answer to // SYFY UK
classic characters. Iron Fist will bring a some Eastern mystique fans about what superpower
to proceedings when he eventually teams up with Daredevil, he wished he had – luck. Neil 24 February
Jessica Jones and Luke Cage in The Defenders, coming to Biswas took the origins of this S
 tan Lee’s Lucky Man,
Netflix later this year. idea and the rest is history. Season 2
As Iron Fist ties in with Marvel’s wider TV and cinematic // SKY 1
The first series was Sky’s most
universe, some familiar faces are set to return. Recurring successful original drama with a
character Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson), a nurse who made TBC March
second series green lit before the
her debut helping Daredevil, returns. Carrie-Anne Moss also  I nto the Badlands,
first had even finished. It was a Season 2
reprises her role as attorney Jeri Hogarth, originally seen in surprise hit and not surprising as // AMAZON PRIME
Jessica Jones. The series promises to bring its own unique anything Stan Lee touches seems
flavour, as seen with previous Marvel shows, and will finally to turn to gold. Season two is on 6 March
bring this classic super hero to life. Sky1 now. O nce Upon A Time,
If super heroes aren’t your thing, there’s still plenty to Season 6b
get stuck into this month as Once Upon a Time returns with // NETFLIX
the second half of its sixth season. Set in the fictional town of
Storybrooke, the show is based on characters from popular 9 March
fairytales including Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin), Prince D esignated Survivor,
Charming (Josh Dallas) and Belle (Emilie de Ravin). The epic Season 1b
fantasy series follows the Evil Queen’s (Lana Parilla) attempts // NETFLIX

to thwart the daily lives of the heroes. The premise sounds

utterly bonkers but it works, bringing a dark and edgy slant to 17 March
M arvel’s Iron Fist
the traditional fairytales we grew up with as children and it’s a
// NETFLIX
joy to see them portrayed this way for television. GM
©NETFLIX / ©SKY

64 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_060-064_DontMiss.indd 64 08/02/2017 20:55

DBF_PrintAd_GM_NEO.indd
Ad.indd 1 1 02/02/2017 14:31:12
09/02/2017 16:51
 BINGEBOX
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reimagining of Sherlock Holmes is (Jake McDorman), a late twenty-something struggling musician. Finch is
always at its best when the detective introduced to NZT-48, a drug that allows him to access every neuron in his brain.
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SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 // “EPS1.0_HELLOFRIEND.MOV”
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SEASON 4, EPISODE 11 // “THE OUTSIDER” SEASON 1, EPISODE 5 // “MEESEEKS AND DESTROY”
n Showing on the History channel in the US, Amazon Prime picked up the gritty n Rick and Morty has been a revelation.
©BBC / ©USA NETWORK / ©JONATHAN HESSION/A&E / ©CBS BROADCASTING, INC / ©TURNER / ©JOJO WHILDEN/NETFLIX

historical drama filled with revenge and death for streaming and is releasing a A dark, comedic pastiche of every sci-fi
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 THE OA
SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 // “HOMECOMING”
n If you’re missing your Stranger Things
fix, The OA arrived just in time. In the
eight episode series created by Zal
Batmanglij and Brit Marling, previously
blind Prairie Johnson has returned
with her sight restored after having
disappeared for seven years. It’s a series
full of twists and turns.

66 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_066-067_BingeBox.indd 66 08/02/2017 20:56

 STREAMING TV

STREAMING SHOWCASE // NETFLIX

In our BINGEBOX pages we are championing the streaming

TV services where you can enjoy quality TV at the touch of a
button, for free or if you subscribe. There are lots of download
locations for most TV and movies: iTunes, Google Play,
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to buy episodes one and a time, these are for you.
Netflix is still the King of streaming TV, although Amazon
Prime is snapping at their heels with some great exclusives
like Man in the High Castle and Mr Robot. We love Netflix
for their Marvel shows, simple. Daredevil and Jessica Jones
forged a new way for super heroes to arrive on our screens in
2015, closely followed by Luke Cage last year. Log on now and
you can enjoy trailers for the upcoming The Defenders and
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S UPER HEROES HORROR

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SEASON 1, EPISODE 13 // “YOU KNOW MY STEEZ” SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 // “EPISODE 1”
n Before Marvel’s Iron Fist hits screens n If you’re a subscriber to Shudder, then you need to check out this superbly
fans would be advised to catch up on crafted French-produced supernatural tale about a woman who inherits a house
Luke Cage as each of Marvel’s Netflix only to discover there’s a parallel world hiding behind the creepy abode’s walls.
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later this year in The Defenders. Luke exclusive, you’ll need to take a free trial for a taster.
Cage has been a little slower than the
rest in terms of building up to the action
but the finale will not dissapoint.
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 DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW

SEASON 2, EPISODE 7 // “INVASION!”
nA
 rrow, The Flash, Supergirl and DC’s
Legends of Tomorrow were brought
together last year in DC’s massive TV
crossover event. They’ve already figured
out that Supergirl is their ace in the hole
as they fight the world’s latest threats
but, as usual, not all goes according to
plan. NowTV has episodes to stream.
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 SUPERGIRL  SANTA CLARITA DIET

SEASON 2, EPISODE 8 // “MEDUSA” SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 // “PILOT”
nS
 upergirl has been one of the most enjoyable of DC’s run of super hero TV shows. n Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant

©NETFLIX / ©DAVID GIESBRECHT/NETFLIX / ©WB / ©SHUDDER / ©ERICA PARISE/NETFLIX / ©BUENA VISTA TELEVISION
So far, this second season has been a whirlwind of drama and action, ‘Medusa’ kill it (literally) in Netflix’s twisted tale
is one of the highlights, concluding DC’s massive crossover TV event bringing of a suburban housewife turned zombie,
together Supergirl, Arrow, Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. With two which debuted on Netflix this month.
seasons hiding on NowTV, there’s no excuse not to enjoy quality super hero TV. The ten episode series moves swiftly,
weaving in gags and gore at a breakneck
pace, resulting in one of the best series
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 UNSOLVED MYSTERIES
SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 // “LEGEND: GULF BREEZE UFO INCIDENT”
n After a decade stuck in release limbo,
the cult show has found its way onto
Amazon’s streaming service in all its
mysterious and creepy glory. Part horror,
part documentary and hosted by Robert
Stack, it delves deep into real life cold
cases, twisted crimes, missing persons’
reports and paranormal activity.

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GM#18_066-067_BingeBox.indd 67 08/02/2017 20:57

 BECAUSE JAPAN
Words: JONATHAN CLEMENTS
Jonathan is the author of Anime: A History
and Modern Japan: All That Matters

Robotic Angel
JONATHAN CLEMENTS ASKS WHOSE
METROPOLIS IS IT ANYWAY?

Detective Shunsaku Ban and his nephew-assistant Kenichi

arrive in Duke Red’s city of the future on the trail of an organ-
trafficking doctor. But the city is coming apart, with Duke
Red’s adopted son Rock leading a predatory police force, and
the enslaved robot population scapegoated as the cause of all
ills. Meanwhile, Tima, an android facsimile of the Duke’s dead
daughter, goes on the run, unaware of her true nature.
The 2001 feature Metropolis was a who’s-who of big
names from the Japanese animation business, including a
superstar writer, a director at the top of his game, and an
original story from the renowned ‘God of Manga’. It was
also famously the last great clash of old and new animation
techniques, using the traditional cel animation method in
conjunction with conspicuous digital animation – thereafter,
almost all Japanese animation would be entirely created
within computers, whether it had a hand-drawn appearance
or not. Such juxtapositions even carried across into the
characters themselves, with a cast that faithfully mimicked
the cartoonish look of Osamu Tezuka’s original comic,
dwarfed and often upstaged by gleaming, realist steampunk
backgrounds and machinery.
In Germany the film is known as Robotic Angel,
seemingly because nobody was going to get away with giving
it the same name as Fritz Lang’s classic movie. Even in the
new English-language release from Eureka Films, the movie
is pointedly called Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis. But this only
opens a whole new can of worms.
For starters, much of the film’s plotting and look owes
more to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and its distaff descendant
Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, both touchstones for the film’s
famous scriptwriter, Akira-creator Katsuhiro Otomo. Yet
neither of those works were known to Osamu Tezuka when
he wrote the original Metropolis manga, which he began
working on as a teenage boy in the 1930s. His inspiration was
a magazine article about the Fritz Lang movie, which he had
not seen at the time. In fact, Tezuka was once heard to claim
that his sole true inspiration was a sighting merely of the
poster for Lang’s film, and his teenage speculations as to what
it might have been like. At best, Tezuka’s story and setting
were inspired by a handful of stills and a bit of text, but were
©EUREKA FILMS

68 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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 I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H

not as directly related to the Lang film as Otomo’s version

could be said to be.
Moreover, it’s become commonplace in writing about
movies to assign a possessive credit to the director. Films
of all stripes are collaborative ventures, but although there
are occasional complaints from the Writers Guild and other
interested parties, it’s the directors who most often get to
say that a film is ‘theirs’. But Osamu Tezuka didn’t direct
Metropolis. In fact, he’d been dead for a generation when it
was made, and left explicit instructions that it should never be
filmed. Metropolis was actually helmed by Shigeyuki Hayashi,
usually known by his pen-name Rintaro, an animator who
got his big break in the 1960s working for Tezuka on the iconic TOO SOON?
Astro Boy.
Rintaro’s attitude towards Metropolis, although usually The problems faced by Tezuka’s
spun in the media as an homage to his beloved mentor, Metropolis did not cease with its
doesn’t have quite the same reputation among many anime production. First reaching Japanese
professionals. One bitterly observed to me that Tezuka had cinemas in April 2001, it was slated
been absolutely crystal clear about his opposition to seeing for an American release that
the story animated. In championing the production, Rintaro autumn, only to be pulled from
was less tipping his hat to Tezuka than flipping him a finger. theatres when its explosive finale,
He even admitted in press interviews that Tezuka, “would in which a prominent building comes
have hated the film and will probably haunt me as a ghost.” crashing down, was regarded as
Otomo, too, was heard to say that while Tezuka had been an too close to the bone for audiences
inspiration to him, he was sure that his cyberpunk stylings in the wake of the September
would not have found favour with Tezuka, were he to ever 11th terrorist attacks. The film did
see them. eventually limp out abroad, but one
In mitigation, such decisions over literary estates are can’t help but wonder how much of
fraught with what-ifs. Tezuka’s heirs have been superbly its marketing energy was expended
adept at preserving his legacy with a number of modern on this earlier, phantom date before
remakes, so it should come as no surprise that Metropolis its rescheduling.
gets the same treatment as Astro Boy and Kimba the White
Lion. As with all estates, there is a question of whether
the originator would have ever changed his mind. But the
SEE THE WONDERS OF
wrangles in the background over ‘Osamu Tezuka’s’ Metropolis JAPAN FOR YOURSELF
will always leave the audience guessing whose Metropolis it WITH JAPAN MANGA TOURS
really is. GM ARRANGED BY
JAPAN JOURNEYS
Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis is re-released in the UK on 13
020 7766 5267
March by Eureka Video. W W W. J A PA N J O U R N E YS .CO.U K

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 69

GM#18_068-069_BecauseJapan.indd 69 09/02/2017 17:57

 THE UK’s best magazine
for Asian pop culture

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DM14[houseAd]v1.indd 1 09/02/2017 17:36

 GET THIS
I CAME HERE TO DRINK MILK AND CHECK OUT
THE LATEST GEEKY COLLECTABLES, AND I’VE
JUST FINISHED MY MILK…

Toy Story Bandai Chogokin

Combination Star Figure
$ 1 6 0 ( £ 1 2 8) // T H I N KG E E K . C O M

Wow, here is one collectable that will make you stop

and do a double-take. Bandai has partnered with
Disney to create officially-licensed Toy Story models
of Woody, Rex, Bullseye, Slinky Dog and Hamm,
but there’s a twist – the action figures combine to
form the Woody Robo Sheriff Star figure. Combined
together the figure is nine inches tall, but that isn’t
much for the whopping price tag, but the clever
way these toys combine must be applauded. It’s the
intricate detail that Bandai has put into this mash-
up that we love, but we’ve got to say – where is the
Buzz Lightyear version? He could combine with Bo
Beep and… oh, maybe not.

Game of Thrones Dorbz: The IT Crowd Drink Milk mug Doctor Who Sonic
Night King Screwdriver BBQ Tongs
£ 1 0 // H B O S H O P E U . C O M £ 1 2 // R E D B U B B L E . C O M £ 2 0 // A M A ZO N

You’ve never seen a Night King like this before! Go on Graham, bring back The IT Crowd for These heatproof, 22 1/2 inch BBQ tongs are
After turning every pop culture character another series. We really miss the antics of Roy, perfect for rustling up a Timelord tenderloin or
in sight into a POP! Vinyl figure, the boffins Moss and Jen, and we could probably make an Mire Beast burger, or even a Cyberman Sausage
at Funko have now turned their hand to a entire Geeky Monkey feature out of the stuff (that’s enough of that – Ed). They’re big, with a
range called Dorbz. These are cute three inch on their shelves in the IT department. Moss’s good springy motion, perfect for picking up any
tall figures with bulbous heads. Arriving in brilliant quip when he was about to play Street charred meat, then when you’ve cleaned them
windowed and numbered collectable packaging, Countdown has made it on to this mug from Red off they slip inside a Sonic Screwdriver storage
do you open him up and have Night King protect Bubble, along with his Amiga-inspired avatar. case. The design is based on the Eleventh and
your desk, or keep him sealed? Perfect for that afternoon cuppa. Twelfth Doctor’s screwdrivers.

72 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_072-073_GetThis.indd 72 08/02/2017 21:04

 COLLECTABLES

10” Batmobile with Bendable

Figures – Classic TV Series
£ 2 9 // A M A ZO N . C O . U K

You don’t need to break the bank to furnish

your geek shelf with some cool Batman
collectables – at the recent Toy Fair in
London the bendable figures from NJ Croce
caught our eye. Unsurprisingly, one of their
most popular sets is this 1966 Batmobile
complete with bendy Batman and Robin.
It’s a 1:24 model, coming in just under 24cm
long with 7cm tall figures sitting inside.
These toys are made to be played with, being
made from rubber they can take a lot of
punishment as Batman and Robin go around
fighting crime. The Batmobile is going
nowhere though – the wheels don’t move –
shame as that would have made it perfect!

Star Wars: The Force Masters of the Universe: Game of Thrones House
Awakens Chess Skeletor 22” Statue Wine Glasses
£ 3 7 // P O P C U LT C H A . C O M . A U £ 4 8 7 // P O P C U LT C H A . C O M . A U £ 1 5 // H B O S H O P E U . C O M

Hasbro has created an excellent Star Wars: The Woah! There’s some superb skeletal detail in That’s the houses of Westeros on wine glasses,
Force Awakens Chess set at a good price, so this new Masters of the Universe statue from not glasses for house wine. The official HBO
anyone can add one to their geeky Star Wars Sideshow Collectables. With his enchanted store has a range of quality wine glasses in
collection. The 32 Chess pieces are all detailed Havoc Staff in his hand, he is wearing his battle stock, featuring the sigil of the big families
models of characters from the movie. Darth armour and has a removable cape. He’s still on of the show. The Lannisters have a lion, the
Vader plays one of the Kings, obviously, with the lookout for the secrets of Castle Grayskull, Baratheons a stag. Perfect for staging your
Han Solo as a Knight. We’ll leave you guessing but He-Man is hot on his tail. There are only own King’s Landing feast. You’ll also find shot
which part Rey plays, but it’s a powerful female 4,000 of these in the world, hence the choking glasses, mugs and tumblers on the website to
lead. Hasbro – not just for kids! price tag. create your own Game of Thrones bar!

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 73

GM#18_072-073_GetThis.indd 73 08/02/2017 21:04

 74 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

GM#18_074-075_LeadReview.indd 74 08/02/2017 21:31

 Peaking around a corner in PSVR
mode to find this guy waiting is a
heart-stopping moment you will
never forget.

[FILM]

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

£ 4 2 // P S 4 , P S V R , X B 1 , P C
// S T U D I O , C A P C O M

I “PLAY OUT THE ENTIRE

t’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for – Resident Evil is
back, and it’s better than ever. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
is a chilling new tale which sees the series return to its TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE AS IF
survival horror roots. Overblown action sequences and
hordes of zombie foes are no more. Instead, the horror is
YOU WERE REALLY THERE”
more personal than ever – you never know what’s around the
corner, and with a distinct lack of firepower and extremely Sure, you can see the influences a mile off – The Texas
basic combat skills, every fight is a matter of life and death. Chainsaw Massacre is a big one, with clear Blair Witch
Let’s put it another way – it’s way better than Resident vibes in some of the early segments. But it doesn’t feel stale.
Evil 6. Instead, those familiar horror tropes breathe new life into the
What’s it all about? Well, Resident Evil 7 introduces a Resident Evil franchise, forcing you to outwit increasingly
handful of new characters, taking the story away from the devious (and supernaturally strong) opponents… often
series regulars and into new territory. Ethan Winters isn’t a with nothing more than a pocket knife. There are familiar
soldier. He doesn’t carry a big gun. In fact, Ethan starts the elements, too – a strong sense of puzzle-solving underpins
game with no weapons at all. After receiving a mysterious the scarier moments, although it sometimes defuses the
e-mail from his long-missing wife, Ethan heads off to a tension a bit. There are even some ‘boss’ fights, as well as a
remote plantation in the eerie depths of Dulvey, Louisiana creeping hint of how the game ties into the larger series.
in a last-ditch effort to find out what happened to her. But Just don’t expect to go on a zombie-killing rampage. It’s
things don’t exactly go according to plan, and after a brush not that kind of game. Instead, the tension is real, the fear
with the incredibly creepy Baker family, Ethan is forced to is dialled up to 11, and with everything in first-person for
fight for his life… while the Bakers are keen to ‘welcome’ him the first time in the series, it’s a far more personal journey
to the family. through the horrors and jump-scares that you expect in a
It’s not quite the homecoming Ethan was expecting, but Resident Evil game. Oh, and if you’ve got PlayStation VR you
one that Resident Evil fans have been waiting eagerly for. The can strap on your headset and play out the entire terrifying
Resident Evil series has been drifting away from the gripping experience as if you were really there. Just make sure you
tension of survival horror for a long time, and by Resident have a spare pair of pants! This is an incredible experience.
Evil 6, the previously-terrifying saga had become more about Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a stomach-churning return
blasting hordes of zombies than experiencing true terror. to form. It’s terrifying. It’s chilling. Most of all, it brings new
Thankfully, that all changes in Resident Evil 7 as its terrifying ways to experience the real terror that Resident Evil lost in
plot and gruelling survival gameplay brings it all back to its recent years. GM
horror movie roots.
©CAPCOM

w w w.geeky mon key.tv 75

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 [FILM]

John Wick: Chapter 2

D I R E C T E D B Y, C H A D S TA H E L S K I // S TA R R I N G , K E A N U R E E V E S , C O M M O N , L A U R E N C E F I S H B U R N E
// S T U D I O , L I O N S G AT E

A “REEVES’ CONTROLLED
t the tail end of 2014, John Wick was released with
little fanfare, arriving in a year featuring huge
blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men: PERFORMANCE THROUGH
Days of Future Past. However, the film gained attention from
critics and became somewhat of a ‘sleeper’ hit for first time
HIS SPARSE, TIGHT-LIPPED
directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch. A little over two DIALOGUE, PAIRED WITH
years later and Keanu Reeves returns as the retired hitman in
John Wick: Chapter 2 and wastes no time picking up where
EACH EXPLOSIVE ACTION
John Wick left us. SEQUENCE, ARE A JOY”
Having sought vengeance for the death of his dog (a gift
given to Wick by his recently deceased wife), there’s still
the matter of his stolen car. In keeping with the slick action
of the first movie, Chapter 2 opens with an exhilarating But Wick’s world is as important as the man himself;
‘car fu’ action sequence as Wick finds his car and finally the lore of John Wick is one of the most intriguing aspects
closes the first chapter. Nevertheless, he returns home to of Wick’s mythos. Some familiar faces return like chop shop
find more trouble at his doorstep as a blood oath he took to owner Aurelio (John Leguizamo), the Continental Hotel
leave his old life is the very oath that pulls him back into the owner Winston (Ian McShane) and the hotel’s concierge
shadowy underworld he left behind and he travels to Rome Charon (Lance Reddick) but Chapter 2 opens up Wick’s
‘on business’. world with characters like crime lord The Bowery King
This time it’s Staheleski taking up directorial duties with (Laurence Fishburne).
Leitch as producer and it’s business as usual. Both Leitch John Wick: Chapter 2, stands apart once more from the
and Staheleski (who previously worked with Keanu Reeves heavyweight franchises littered throughout 2017’s release
as stuntmen on The Matrix trilogy) know how to do stylish schedule; he’s not a super hero, he’s a man, he’s an anti-
action and bloody violence with perfect precision as they hero, he walks the grey line between good and evil, where
bring Eastern influences such as gun fu and elements of the blockbusters barely scratch the surface, and will no doubt
heroic bloodshed genre to their net-noir vengeance thriller. be referenced as a modern day gun fu-infused action flick
Reeves’ controlled performance through his sparse, tight- done right. We loved the movie, and you will to. A Geeky
©NIKO TAVERNISE/LIONSGATE

lipped dialogue, paired with each explosive action sequence, Monkey five star review!
are a joy to watch.

76 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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 REVIEWS

[AUDIO DRAMA]

Doctor Who: The Star Men

£ 1 5 C D , £ 1 3 D O W N L O A D // S TA R R I N G , P E T E R D AV I S O N ,
M AT T H E W WAT E R H O U S E // S T U D I O , B I G F I N I S H

Nothing whatsoever to do with the late David Bowie, this

Doctor Who audio adventure is set in the Peter Davison era.
Keen to assist Adric with his studies, the plot sees the Fifth
Doctor taking the TARDIS to Gallius Ultima, a planet on
the edge of the Milky Way to view a widely renowned space
observatory situated there. Unfortunately, their visit coincides
with the untimely return of the Johannes Kepler star ship
which is heading for a collision course with the planet, having
had some horrendous experience while exploring Gallius
Ultima’s galactic neighbour, the Large Magellanic Cloud.
With some occasionally corny dialogue (“What on Gallius
are you doing here?”) and a complex plot, this is certainly
scary enough to give you cause to periodically hide behind
your own sofa at home while listening. But Andrew Smith’s
script is undeniably high quality stuff with Peter Davison’s
voice only occasionally betraying the passage of time (he is
now well into his sixties). He is ably accompanied by a cast
which includes Matthew Waterhouse at Adric, Sarah Sutton
as Nyssa and Janet Fielding as Tegan. With occasional Fresh
Meat cast member Sophie Wu meanwhile playing potential
Adric love interest Autumn Trace plus Sue Holdernness and
Peter Guinness also making an impact, this is certainly an
admirable attempt to recreate the Peter Davison era.

[BOOK] [GAME] [BLU-RAY]

Geekographica The Crew Ultimate Edition Class

£ 1 0 // W R I T E R , A N T H O N Y B R O W N £ 3 0 // P C , P S 4 , X B 1 £ 1 8 // S TA R R I N G , G R E G A U S T I N , K AT H E R I N E
// P U B L I S H E R , Q U E R C U S PUBLISHER, UBISOF T K E L LY // S T U D I O , 2 E N T E R TA I N

Anyone who’s spent more than five minutes When The Crew first hit consoles in 2014 it The latest Doctor Who spin-off Class follows the
on any social media site is bombarded with was a mess, but thanks to consistent updates, students of Coal Hill Academy as they balance
infographics on everything from the big bang Ubisoft’s open world racer has gone from student life with encounters from alien beings
theory to The Big Bang Theory, so there’s no strength to strength and amassed a staggering and strange monsters that threaten their way
surprise that a number of books filled with five million players on a monthly basis. This of life. The action packed first episode was an
them have been thrust onto shelves over recent Ultimate Edition cranks the thrills up to 11 impressive start as the Doctor himself (Peter
years. The thing is, these books only make sense with a blistering new mode that lets you Capaldi) made an appearance just in the nick of
as a diverting stocking filler at Christmas, every play as either a cop or street racer over 12 time to protect the students in the face of evil.
entry being too arbitrary to tempt any geek to story-based missions, but the real fun is in However, it’s the nuances of the students and
buy it for themselves, despite Mark Bryson’s the excellent online pursuits and chases best their wants and desires that make Class and
attractive art and design. played with a friend. compelling new addition to the Whoniverse.

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 REVIEWS

[DVD] [BOOK]
The Doctors – The Jon Rick and Morty Volume Two
Pertwee Years
£ 1 5 // S TA RRING , JON PER T WEE, JOHN L E V ENE £ 1 4 // A U T H O R , Z A C G O R M A N
// S T U D I O , R E E LT I M E P I C T U R E S // P U B L I S H E R , T I TA N C O M I C S

Who among us would not welcome the There was a time we would say the reason Rick
opportunity to revisit the halcyon days of and Morty is one of the best comedy sci-fi shows
Doctor Who Number Three? But if you do, is the combination of Community creator Dan
frankly you’re better off looking elsewhere. Harmon and Lord Lemongrab himself, Justin
For, crucially, this is a collection of interviews Roiland. The blend of ruthless good taste when
with key figures reminiscing about their time it comes to bad taste of the former, and the
on the show, rather than episodes of the show twisted craft of the latter, is really what makes
itself. The clue is on the cover: Jon Pertwee the show tick. But now here we are in 2017
is pictured, but is clearly far older than he with still no fresh Rick and Morty shows to get
was when he was the Doctor. This is fine as stuck into, besides an endless line of bobble-
far as it goes: there are six hours worth of headed toys, and frankly any placebo will do
interviews with the likes of Pertwee, Katy while the two creative genii fix their problems
Manning and a few others such as Nicholas and finally start to deliver season three. The
Courtney (the Brigadier). But even the most comics obviously don’t match up to the show
interview-hungry won’t be that impressed itself, but this will just about keep you going
by the absence of key personnel like the late for now. This collection features issues #6-10
Elisabeth Sladen or Geoffrey Palmer. It’s not of the comic series, including the Ball Fondlers
as if Doctor Who fans are starved of good Special by guest artist Andrew MacLean, A Very
documentary material anyway: almost every Special Blumbus, illustrated by series writer
DVD release features episodes accompanied Gorman, and a cyberpunk adventure across
by a usually interview-packed documentary. the multiverse. It’s a little off-model in artwork
Get one of those instead. and script, but we’ll take what we can get.

[DVD] [BOOK] [BLU-RAY]

Beyond The Gates The LEGO Batman Movie Marvel’s Doctor Strange
Essential Guide
£ 1 3 // S TA R R I N G , B A R B A R A C R A M P T O N £ 4 // A U T H O R , J U L I A M A R C H £ 1 5 // S TA R R I N G , B E N E D I C T C U M B E R B AT C H
// S T U D I O , S I G N AT U R E E N T E R TA I N M E N T // P U B L I S H E R , D K // S T U D I O , WA LT D I S N E Y

One of our favourites from 2016’s FrightFest, If your inner child wants to know how the Being an origin story, Doctor Strange may cover
this is a genius terror tale that riffs brilliantly on new CGI LEGO extravaganza is made, here’s a the same narrative ground as its predecessors,
the world of VHS games, hampered only by its perfect buy for you. As this book is designed for but visually it’s one of the most thrilling comic
lack of budget. With stellar turns from its two readers five and up, it’s not otherwise much of book fables to date, pulling in inspiration from
leads (Graham Skipper and Chase Williamson), a read for adult geeks. LEGO permutations of mind-bending classics such as Inception and
as well as a cameo from horror queen, Barbara everything is great fun, of course, but by its very The Matrix. Thankfully the stunning visuals are
Crampton, as the titular board game’s sinister nature, The LEGO Batman Movie takes one very bolstered by rock solid performances from its
host, Beyond The Gates is one of the best indie clearly defined creation, and combines it with top tier cast who ultimately help open the door
horror offerings of late that’s guaranteed to another, giving you perhaps the least intriguing to an entirely new realm of possibilities in the
please fans of Eighties inspired spook stories. design job in cinema history. ever-expanding Marvel movie-verse.

78 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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 [GAME]

Yakuza 0
£ 3 9 // P S 4
PUBLISHER, SEG A

While the Yakuza games have managed to achieve

superstardom in Japan, the series has never quite managed
SEGA has always been a big fan of
hiding their classic games in their to attain the same levels of popularity over here with us
new ones, like this Super Hang On Westerners, save for a small, but extremely dedicated fan-base.
arcade machine. With Yakuza 0 it’s possible that all of that is about to change
before the year’s out. Firstly, this is an origin story that casts
aside all the messy narratives that have come before it, which
means it’s the perfect starting point for new players. Secondly,
it features one of the strongest storylines in the franchise to
date, with the game casting you as a young Yakuza member
thrust into world of betrayal and power struggles during the
decedent Eighties in a fictional district of Tokyo.
While the main game itself will take you around 30 or
so hours to complete, the real joy here is in discovering the
countless side missions that can extend play time almost
twofold; there’s a mountain of stuff to delve into, including
playing classic SEGA arcade games, gambling, karaoke and
dishing out brutal beatings. A word of warning: if you’re on
the hunt for a GTA-like opus, you won’t find it here – there
are no cars to drive and guns have been eschewed in favour
of a deep combat system with multiple fighting styles to keep
things feeling fresh from start to finish.

[PODCAST]

Down and Safe: A Blake’s 7 Podcast

L E N G T H , 7 0 - 9 0 M I N S // F O R T N I G H T LY // H O S T S , M I C H A E L T H O M A S , L I Z M Y L E S ,
S C O T T LY N C H , A M A L E L- M O H TA R // U R L , D O W N A N D S A F E .W O R D P R E S S . C O M

An intrepid team of four pop culture writers and editors tackle the infamously
kitsch late-1970s-early-1980s BBC sci-fi TV show Blake’s 7. Usually focusing on
a single episode, the show’s free-flowing conversation ranges widely from the
specifics of the episode at hand to all sorts of other science fiction film, TV, and
literary connections.
Uncanny Magazine editor Michael Thomas (US) leads the discussion, with
lengthy contributions from writer Liz Myles (Scotland), author Scott Lynch (US,
with the deepest voice), and Amal El-Mohtar (Canada), giving the podcast an
international feel. They initially go light on spoilers, with Amal being brand new
to the show, while the other three have clearly watched it before. Things kick off
with a brief recap of the episode’s events, followed by in-depth discussion, often
heavily focused on the character development, especially Paul Darrow’s Avon.
Later in the episode there’s a free-for-all spoiler section, called ‘Consulting Orac’
which spoiler-free Amal sits out. The ropey 1970s BBC production values (‘Look,
another quarry!’) get much ribbing, while the show’s undoubted influence on
later 1980s and 1990s international sci-fi TV is acknowledged, with Farscape and
Firefly namechecked.
There’s much legitimate comparison with late Tom Baker Doctor Who, with
a dash of frequent space fashion criticism thrown in. There are currently 21
episodes to enjoy, taking the Down and Safe crew up to the mid-point of 1979’s
season two of the show. Can’t get enough ‘torpid angst in space’? Beam down this
lively podcast!

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 [FILM]

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

D I R E C T E D B Y, PA U L W. S . A N D E R S O N // S TA R R I N G , M I L L A
J O V O V I C H // S T U D I O , S C R E E N G E M S

Picking up where Resident Evil: Retribution left off, The Final

Chapter sees Alice (Jovovich), emerging from the sewers of
a ruined world to journey back to Racoon City in a last-ditch
attempt to save the world from annihilation. Much like the
previous films the narrative here is thin, but that’s what we’ve
come to expect from the series that takes its cues from the long
running Capcom game franchise. However, and as always,
Anderson manages to somehow hold the entire thing together
with a series of action sequences, each one more ludicrous
than the last and designed solely to showcase his wife’s rather
awesome on-screen ass-kickery skills. There’s plenty of
things for die-hard fans of the series to pour over, including
the return of a few familiar faces and a double serving of
last-minute reveals that manage to add new – and rather
intriguing – layers to the story canon originally laid down by
Anderson back in 2002.
Like all of the previous films, Resident Evil is a hot mess,
but a hot mess we just can’t seem to take our eyes off for some
reason, and while things do vastly improve in the third act,
we can’t but feel that despite nifty plot twists at play here,
Anderson has failed to wind the series up on the high note the
trailers promised.

[BLU-RAY] [TV]
King Kong Vs Godzilla Legion, Season 1

£ 8 // S TA RRING , TA DAO TA K A SHIM A , JUN TA Z AK I S TA R R I N G , D A N S T E V E N S , R A C H E L K E L L E R

// S T U D I O , U N I V E R S A L P I C T U R E S // C H A N N E L , F O X U K

By any standard, this cult title always had Legion is one of this year’s most anticipated TV
a complicated production, starting out shows and with Fargo creator Noah Hawley
as an attempt to pit the giant ape against involved. Hawley’s unique approach is what
Frankenstein’s Monster – and after Ishirō sets it apart from the gritty street-level heroes
Honda made his film, it was further messed of Marvel’s shows and the colourful world
about with for the American dubbed version. of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. David Haller (Dan
That is what we get here, no features, no Stevens) is a troubled young man and has spent
explanation, no context, just the C-movie many years in and out of mental institutions. At
which westerners would have seen in fleapits one hospital he meets a mysterious girl called
55 years ago. We could go into the plot, but Syd Barrett who doesn’t like to be touched, and
essentially what happens is… King Kong that’s when the story gets interesting. David’s
fights Godzilla. Somewhere in Japan. One of memories flit between past and present and
them seems to win, but both monsters can be the explosive first episode mirrors Haller’s
revived. And that’s exactly what’s happening disorientating memories. Haller’s life is a puzzle
now, with both cinema icons being rebooted and as he begins to piece together his memories,
in parallel in preparation for 2020’s CG feature, unravelling his past and his potential power(s),
cunningly titled Godzilla Vs King Kong. We’d he begins to unravel darkness within. As
advise you skip all of this and just wait for enjoyable as super heroes are, there’s nothing
the live action version of classic videogame better than the story of the anti-hero and
Rampage which is on the cards, at least it also thankfully Hawley is avoiding the ‘mutant high’
has a huge wolf in it. Or even better, just watch approach, exploring new ground, giving the
South Park’s Mecha-Streisand. super hero TV genre a new lease of life.
©SCREEN GEMS

80 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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 [GAME]

LEGO Dimensions: The Batman

Movie Story Pack
£ 3 3 // A L L C O N S O L E S
P U B L I S H E R , WA R N E R B R O S I N T E R A C T I V E E N T E R TA I N M E N T
We challenge you to keep up
with the geeky goodness of
LEGO Dimensions. Over the
next month LEGO Batman, The The yellow plastic version of the caped crusader has been
Goonies and more Harry Potter doing noticeably better than the live-action version in recent
will be coming your way. years, and so this latest addition to the LEGO Dimensions
multi-verse is bound to do great business. It even has an
entire movie to latch onto, with voices including Will Arnett,
Ralph Fiennes and er… Mariah Carey?!
Laughs are guaranteed in the cut-scenes, even without
these big names providing dialogue, but the six levels of
action themselves are the by-now very familiar LEGO
game fare. You can use the Batgirl and Robin minifigures
to accompany Batman in his quest to take on The Joker
and Two-Face, plus there’s a rebuildable 3-in-1 Batwing
vehicle, and Bat-Computer gateway build – you can reform
the Batwing into The Black Thunder and Bat-Tank then pop
Batgirl, Robin and their vehicle on the LEGO Toy Pad to bring
them to life in the game.
It’s good to know that some things are still going well
within the DC universe, and whether you’re playing with
the younger geeks out there, or keeping this all to yourself,
you’re in for a real treat of quality gameplay.

[FILM]

Prevenge
W R I T E R , D I R E C T O R & S TA R , A L I C E L O W E
// S T U D I O , K A L E I D O S C O P E E N T E R TA I N M E N T

All the best British movies tend to be hard to actually go and

see, but having toured the world’s film festivals to pretty
universal wonder, Alice Lowe’s solo writing/directing debut
should finally be at a cinema within reasonable distance
from you now. As writer, director and star of Prevenge,
Lowe doesn’t put a toe wrong with her tale of a psychopathic
foetus. She plays Ruth, seven months pregnant and suddenly
aware that the life she is carrying in her distended tummy
wants to take other lives – and no matter how she protests,
soon she is allowing the tiny voice in her head to guide her
on a murderous spree. There’s less of the twisted Mike Leigh
flavour of her cult hit Sightseers with Steve Oram and Ben
Wheatley, and far more blood to spill in far more gruesome –
and admittedly, totally unrealistic – ways.
The cast is as rich as we’d hoped – Gemma Whelan,
Dan Renton Skinner and Mike Mozniak being just a few
of the comedy names playing it horrifically. The release
complications suggest that Prevenge is going to be no more
of a commercial hit than any other of Lowe’s films, but it’s
a must-see for any true horror fan, and she deserves every
gong going for all three crdits she receives. Just don’t take it
too seriously if you’re an expectant parent…

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 [DVD]

WWE: Best PPV Matches 2016

£ 2 1 //
S T U D I O , F R E M A N T L E H O M E E N T E R TA I N M E N T

I
n recent years, WWE programming has fallen into A ‘Six Pack Challenge’, to crown the first ever WWE
a bland holding pattern in-between part-time stints Smackdown Women’s Champion features a less assured
from some of the company’s biggest stars. The upside combination of talent and is rushed. It does have its
to this stasis though has often been to benefit those fans moments though, and is kept buoyant by the superb
who have persevered over an extended period. More Irishwoman, Lynch. Bayley’s PPV debut is nothing special
often than not, we’ve been treated to big PPV match-ups but more effective is the hard-hitting, lengthy Hell in a
that have delivered when it has really counted, featuring Cell clash between Sasha Banks and Charlotte. Naysayers
a host of names who would otherwise perhaps not gain may have accused those positive about this contest as
the opportunity. over-compensating and ‘white knighting’, but in reality,
As always, this is a match compilation that takes us many people simply enjoyed the compelling grappling.
though the PPV events in succession, spotlighting some It remains to be seen whether Banks can do the business
of those key battles, featuring recaps along the way. against a wider variety of opponents, but there is certainly
Those video packages are of course, complete fluff – the an intensity in evidence here that makes for gripping
meat is in the fine array of tussles included. viewing. A flat finish is the the only downer for this
One of the best examples is John Cena’s exhausting, historic effort. Elsewhere, there’s a reminder
Summerslam battle with AJ Styles. It is WWE-style of Sheamus’ special chemistry with Cesaro; their Clash
“THE SHEER action at its very best if you ask us. This is proper, main of the Champions scrap is excellent. Even better is a
event level sports entertainment, capped off by searing blistering encounter between The Miz and Dolph Ziggler,
VENOM THAT crowd heat. The sheer venom that the vast majority of A Dean Ambrose clash with Kevin Owens is another
THE VAST the crowd have towards Cena adds enormously to the
sizzling atmosphere.
cracker, while the latter takes on Sami Zayn in a belting
May collision. Meanwhile, Ambrose also pops up in a
MAJORITY From the same event, the crowning of the first ever heated triple threat and Roman Reigns enjoys career-best

OF THE Universal Champion can’t quite reach that level in terms

of crowd fervour, but it’s still an excellent effort from
form opposite AJ Styles.
As always with these compilations, the title is
CROWD HAVE Finn Balor and Seth Rollins. Balor was injured at the something of a misnomer. There are certainly better
beginning of the bout, and the crowd response is muted bouts that could have been selected for this set. The
TOWARDS a little by their petulance towards the weak looking Undertaker’s Hell in a Cell match with Shane McMahon
CENA ADDS championship itself. is both boring and barely competent, while the Ladder
The women of WWE are represented brilliantly match included also fails to stand out. Meanwhile, notable
ENORMOUSLY by arguably the finest match the company has classics such as Ambrose versus Styles are absent. Despite
TO THE ever promoted featuring female performers. The a few misgivings, this is an excellent release, particularly
Wrestlemania triple threat title bout between Sasha for those unsure of committing to a WWE Network
SIZZLING Banks, Charlotte & Becky lynch is incredible stuff, subscription. As a catch up on recent happenings, this is a
ATMOSPHERE” contested on a stage that must have ensured these ladies fine starting point.
©WWE / FREEMANTLE

were under incredible pressure.

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 ™

Ad.indd 1 09/02/2017 17:59

 This Star Wars game is
bang up-to-date with
characters from Rogue
Star Wars: Force Arena
One: A Star Wars Story. i O S F R E E // A N D R O I D F R E E
DE VELOPER, NE TMARBLE G AMES CORP

I “IF YOU’RE UP AGAINST BOBA

t’s possibly a stretch to suggest that there isn’t a genre
of game that couldn’t be improved by a bit of Star Wars
cosplay. Take Kinect Star Wars on the Xbox 360 for FETT THEN YOU COULD WELL BE
example, and the dance section in which the player’s motions
helped Han Solo get down to his own godawful song. Sample
AT A MASSIVE DISADVANTAGE”
lyric, “And since that carbonite’s off me, I’m livin’ life now
I’m free! Yeah.” Once witnessed, you’ll want to ignite a
lightsabre into your own guts. No, many but not every genre are into the game more than you are then they’ll probably
suits a heavy touch of Star Wars. Multiplayer Online Battle be better at it, which is fair. Problematically, there’s a
Arenas, as proven here, very much does. chance that they’ll have paid real money to gain extra and
For those not in the know, MOBAs are all about placing more powerful cards, which means they’ll have even more
players at each end of an arena next to their base, with the of an advantage. Not only that, the selection of the right
objective being to venture forth to destroy each other’s bases, hero character can also make a difference. Hint: if you’re
having dealt with each other’s forces. Each player controls a up against Boba Fett then you could well be at a massive
hero character directly and can call in extra fighting units disadvantage as that Mandalorian is one tough hombre.
that can automatically charge forward and help them with It’s light too. Unlike other examples of the genre, arenas
their goal. are small and only feature two lanes on which players
So yes, Star Wars: Force Arena is a MOBA, and a pretty can travel, and as soon as you’ve destroyed two of your
decent one at that. Mostly because it does an excellent job at opponent’s defence turrets, you’ve won – as their base will
Star Wars cosplay, and features a few touches learned from then explode. Conversely, the benefit of such scaled-down
the rightly popular Clash of Clans. As you earn points you can MOBAing is that it really does work well on mobile devices.
unlock and upgrade cards that increase your range of combat Matches are short and swift affairs that last only a few
units as well as their effectiveness, and since these cards are minutes, but during their brief time they really can burn so
all based on characters and vehicles from across the Star very brightly. No time is wasted being lost or hunting down
Wars universe, including Rogue One and Rebels, what’s not your opponent, little time is wasted learning how to play.
to love? Honestly, we’ve got to see Jar Jar Binks appear to take It provides simple but effective tactical fun, then, and
out tanks by rolling giant marbles at them and got to call an fun that’s all the more enjoyable for looking so very, very fine.
X-Wing airstrike against Palpatine. It’s all good. Well, mostly. MOBAs wear Star Wars well, and while we’d want more from
If Force Arena has a problem then it’s one based on a PC or console experience, Force Arena provides plenty to
balancing. This is an online multiplayer game, and that enjoy on a small touch screen.
means fighting either one or two real people. If those people

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 STEAM & APPS

Tiles & Tales

i O S F R E E // A N D R O I D F R E E // S T E A M F R E E
D E V E L O P E R , T R I L I T H E N T E R TA I N M E N T

Now available on Steam for the

reasonable price of nothing at all, not
much has changed in this engaging
combative puzzler since it hit mobile
devices last May. And by ‘not much’ we
really mean nothing at all aside from
being clumsily reformatted from portrait to landscape
orientation. Functionally and graphically it’s exactly the
same. Using a set number of moves you slide the lower
screen so matching tiles overlap and increase their value,
with the highest value being used at the end of your
round for various effects. You can, for example, overlap
red tiles to increase your attack on an enemy and purple
tiles to increase your ability to open chests. Initially it’s
all very simple stuff, but it’s not long before you’re not
just thinking about your current encounter, but working
to have the grid in an advantageous configuration for
later ones. It’s then that the game really shows its worth,
and as you get deeper into your adventure so you develop
your character’s abilities as the difficulty steadily rises.
You’ll need to spend money if you’re desperate to make
combat easier, which means those looking for a challenge
get one for free.

Detention
S T E A M £ 8 . 9 9 //
DE VELOPER, RED C ANCLE

Since Konami is far too busy

hacking at its own throat
using a knife made of really
poor business decisions
it’s unlikely we’ll ever see
another Silent Hill game.
We’ll certainly get plenty of Resident Evil, but those searching
for something deeper and more psychological are going to
have to look further afield to get their interactive Asian horror
fix. Still, thanks to the Taiwanese Detention it’s possible to
bathe your body in a murky soup of dread, and take perverse
pleasure from a point-and-click adventure that eschews cheap
jump scares for something far more sinister and affecting.
Set in the 1960s when Taiwan was breaking under the
pressures of martial law, it tells the tale of two students lost
in a high school located deep in remote mountains. Reality
warps, supernatural entities surround, and clever puzzles
must be solved as a brilliant script drags you further into a
mystery shrouded in blasphemous spookiness. Aside from an
overly obvious final act, it’s all powerfully affecting stuff and
although it can be completed in around three hours, you’ll
certainly know you’ve been somewhere special.

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 The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
S T E A M £ 1 0 . 9 9 // i O S £ 1 4 . 9 9
DE VELOPER, NIC ALIS, INC .

Issac’s mother wants to sacrifice him to

God, so what else can he do but explore
a randomly generated basement,
defeat monsters by crying on them,
and eventually climb inside her to
destroy her heart? Recently available on iOS, if you like the idea of
Zelda-like dungeons, immense re-playability, and a truly unique
way for a developer to deal with his real-world parental issues,
then Binding of Isaac is for you. It’s a twisted classic that has been
perfectly ported to mobile devices and totally justifies its premium
price. Once you’ve tasted its grim delights it’ll have you coming
back to not only complete it, but complete it multiple times.

Z-Exemplar
i O S £ 3 . 9 9 // A N D R O I D £ 2 . 9 9 // S T E A M £ 3 . 9 9
DE VELOPER, SUMINELL S TUDIOS

Taking its queue directly from the highly respected

ZX Spectrum version of the 1987 arcade hit R-Type,
as well as pretty much every sideways-scrolling
shoot-’em-up of the era, Z-Exemplar is quite easily
the most impressive retro game you’ll ever play.
Visually, aurally and gameplay-wise it utterly nails it. Then
you need to consider the sheer size of thing. It’s got 961 unique
planetary battlegrounds set across ten planet themes, 21 sweet
weapon systems and hundreds of enemy types to contend with.
The Speccy could never handle anything of such magnitude,
but if it could then this is exactly how it would look and this is
exactly how it would play. 80’s kids rejoice! God bless Sir Clive.

WWE Champions
i O S F R E E // A N D R O I D F R E E
D E V E L O P E R , K U N G F U FA C T O R Y

While it’s certainly nothing of the fine calibre of

fellow match-three puzzler Marvel Puzzle Quest,
there can be no denying that WWE Champions
certainly feels the part. It’s brash, loud, spends
far too long showing off wrestling moves with
pantomime zeal when you want to be matching
gems, and so offers a full-on shouty-shout WWE experience,
which is probably a good thing. It just somewhat misses the fact
that match-three games aren’t about flashy visuals and pausing
gameplay so you can admire an impressive 3D engine, and work so
much better when the player gets immediate feedback and doesn’t
have to stop to play the part of a spectator waving a foam finger.

86 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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 tap in to the best of FSM

I know you’ve written

about how much you
love print, but downloading
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today

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Super A4 house ad 142.indd 1 03/02/2017 18:08

 TOP GEAR
FOUR PIECES OF GEEKY TECHNOLOGY THAT
WE JUST CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT…

Darth Vader Toaster Roku Premiere+

£ 5 0 // T H E F O W N D R Y. C O M // AVA I L A B L E , N O W £ 8 0 // R O K U . C O M // AVA I L A B L E , N O W

Oh the indignity of it all. Darth Vader, Lord Vader, Anakin Skywalker – There is already a wide selection of streaming TV players on the market,
call him what you will, he has been reduced to a head that makes toast. in fact there are three Rokus on sale in the UK right now. But over in
Red Dwarf can keep its Talkie Toaster, pop a couple of slices of Mother’s the States Roku’s backroom boys (and girls) are working to push the
Pride into this baby and your toast will come out with the Star Wars boundaries of streaming TV further. Their latest tech is the Premiere+.
logo seared into the slice. We never thought we would write this, but This is the one you want if you have a shiny new 4K TV to watch and want
Darth’s helmet comes with a pull-out removable crumb tray for easy to get the best out of it. It has a quad-core processor, video out for 1080p
cleaning! Of course, the big question is… do you like your toast on the at 60fps or 4K at 30fps plus lots of ports – HDMI 2.0a, microSD, 802.11ac
Dark Side? Or Light Side? Ha! There’s a dial where you can choose your wireless, 10/100 Ethernet. Shop around and you can pick one of these up
path to perfect toast! now, let your 4K TV shine!

Google Wi-Fi ExoLens PRO with Optics by ZEISS

$ 2 9 9 ( £ 2 3 9) // M A D E B Y. G O O G L E . C O M / W I F I / // AVA I L A B L E , S O O N £ 160 // EU.E XOL ENS .COM // AVAIL ABL E, NOW

Google is certainly lining themselves up to be a strong alternative to While cameras on smartphones are improving all the time, if you want to
Apple. Just look at their Made By Google website to see a top line-up of do some ‘serious’ photography you’re going to need to upgrade that lens.
slick products. The Pixel phone, the Daydream View VR headset, the ExoLens has a fantastic range of bolt-ons for the iPhone, and their PRO
Chromecast for streaming TV. Next on their list of global domination is range with optics by ZEISS caught our eye. For £160 you can have a Mutar
the Google Wi-Fi. “That doesn’t sound very exciting!” I hear you cry, but 0.6x Apsh T Wide-Angle lens, this will improve the edge-to-edge contrast
wait, this is Wi-Fi re-engineered. The three Wi-Fi hubs create a mesh in your pictures. They also do a Macro Lens for the same price if you’re
around your house, boosting the signal and improving coverage to every all about the small stuff, or a Telephoto Lens if you fancy yourself as a bit
corner. With it’s own app you can control the network, pause it for the of a pap at £199.99. The design of each is refined but rugged enough for
kids at bedtime and analyse your coverage to create an optimum signal. carrying around, and of course the optical quality is excellent.

88 GEEKY MONKEY MARCH 2017

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Ad.indd 1 09/02/2017 16:49
 ©1992 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

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 L O S T
THE
I C B O O K
O M
C MOVIES OF THE
199 0 S
GEEKY MONKEY GOES BACK IN TIME TO UNEARTH
THE GREAT AND THE BEST-FORGOTTEN COMIC BOOK
ADAPTATIONS THAT DOMINATED A DECADE
Words: RUSSELL SHEATH
A die hard GI JOE fan, Russ writes about all
forms of film, TV, comics and pop culture.

T
he 1990s! When grunge defined a generation, Part of Batman’s financial success was in how the film
Twin Peaks offered audiences an unsettling capitalised and built upon on the merchandising and marketing
look at small-town America and where, grim, opportunities that the original Star Wars trilogy had established
gritty and dark comic book adaptations over a decade before, the result being that during the summer of
dominated the cinematic landscape. Prior to 1989 and through Christmas into 1990, the bat symbol was
the summer of 1989, the comics industry had inescapable. Crowds at Wimbledon sheltered from the heat in
been no stranger to hits as well as misfires in bat-symbol adorned baseball caps, movie posters were stolen from
its long relationship with Hollywood. The bus stops and Prince recorded a soundtrack that resulted in
1950s had black and white serials such as Batdance dominating the airwaves. Back when radio airplay was
Superman, the 1960s had the antics of the still a thing, and long before Shaun would use it as a zombie weapon.
dynamic duo in the Batman TV series and the rocky relationship Simply put, Batman had become a pop culture phenomenon that
with Tinseltown continued into the 1970s with TV versions of The would prove a benchmark for others to follow!
Amazing Spider-Man and the hit The Incredible Hulk.
In 1978 Superman: The Movie would make audiences believe
that a man could fly in the first, big budget super hero success (with While Batman was sending shockwaves through the mainstream
the opening shot comic book being created by Geeky Monkey friend conscience, the impact of the movie would also send aftershocks
and artist, Oliver Frey, who would go on to paint 1980’s computer through the entire comics industry.
magazine covers for Crash and Zzap!64). However, comic “We did a couple of tie-in projects, including efforts to get one of
adaptations in the 1980s would largely come from non-super hero the adaptation books into movie theatres, but most of DC was pretty
fair such as Conan The Barbarian and Howard The Duck, until Tim much oblivious to what was happening with the movie until it
Burton’s Batman swooped into box offices in the final year of the actually came out,” offers industry veteran Paul Levitz who was
decade, becoming one of the biggest and most influential films of all Executive Vice President and Publisher at DC Comics when Batman
time and earning big video success in the early months of the 90s. hit theatres.

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 “99 percent of the time, having a movie out there doesn’t result world of independent publishing, becoming known for producing
in selling more comics, but the first Batman movie was the diverse and quirky titles including The Mask, Concrete, Flaming
exception to that,” Levitz adds. Carrot as well as licensed properties such as Godzilla.
It wasn’t just DC who would reap the rewards of the caped “When a comic book character was originally transformed into
crusader’s success as DC’s rival in publishing, Marvel, would also a movie, it was always viewed as a novelty up until the first Batman
benefit from the dominance of all things caped and cowled. movie came out,” offers Mike Richardson, the co-founder and
“The ’89 Batman movie, as well as the first Teenage Mutant President of Dark Horse.
Ninja Turtles movie the following summer, caused A LOT of “For Dark Horse, Hollywood began knocking on the door
anticipation at Marvel,” offers Tom DeFalco who at the time served almost right away, possibly because we were getting noticed for a
as Marvel’s Editor in Chief. number of critical comic book successes. Comic book creators had a
“In those days, Marvel couldn’t give the majority of its licences history of not being treated very well by the movie industry, so
away, and we certainly had nothing on the horizon in film or in TV. when I started talking to studios I told them that I wanted to be a
We knew that we had to come up with a very aggressive publishing Producer, in an effort to safeguard the projects and the creators’
strategy in an effort to compensate for these two huge comic book interests. Larry Gordon, who was a producer on Predator called me
properties that we knew were coming from other publishers, and in and we did a movie together called Doctor Giggles in 1989. From that
all honesty we were just hoping that our hardcore fans would time on, Dark Horse has been involved in movie adaptations of our
support us”. comic books,” adds the publisher, who would also find success with
DeFalco continues, “We were assuming that the summer the comic book properties adapted from established Hollywood
Batman movie came out, DC would flood the market with Batman properties including Alien, Predator and Star Wars.
material, but they didn’t. When the Batman movie became a big
success the only material out there was from Marvel. I believe that
we made more money from publishing than DC did during that Before Dark Horse would see its first successes in Hollywood, another
time thanks to those two movies, neither of which were from emergence would rock the comic book world when in 1992 seven of
Marvel. The Batman movie fuelled an interest in all comics, not just the industry’s biggest artists left Marvel to form their own publishing
those from DC.” company, Image Comics. With a speculator boom fuelling comic sales
into the millions, their timing couldn’t have been better.
“When Image was founded, Hollywood really wasn’t a factor,”
While Marvel and DC duked it out, a new comic book company, the offers Top Cow President and writer Matt Hawkins. “Those guys just
fledgling Dark Horse Comics was beginning to make waves in the wanted to own and control their own creations.”

[THE GOOD] [THE BAD] [THE UGLY]

BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM NICK FURY AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. BARBWIRE
THE GOOD,
Success on the big screen Knight Rider star and From its ‘stripper being
T H E BA D A N D would lead to the acclaimed Germany’s favourite crooner hosed down on a swing
T H E U G LY Batman The Animated David Hasselhoff came to to a hard rock soundtrack’
THE BEST AND WORST Series on the small screen. immortalise the single-eyed opening to just about
OF 1990S COMIC BOOK Drawing upon the film-noir super spy, years before everything else in the
MOVIES… aesthetic of the movies Samuel L. Jackson made movie, Barbwire relied
and with many fans citing Fury the baddest mofo in heavily on fan boy fantasy
the show as the best the Marvel universe. A rainy fulfilment and offered little
incarnation of Batman Sunday afternoon must-see, in the way of substance. To
outside of comics, the animated series also Fury is notable for being written by Blade and be fair, the source material didn’t offer a lot to
spawned a movie Mask of The Phantasm which Dark Knight trilogy scribe David Goyer and for the work with either. The fact you can pick it up on
saw a theatrical release in 1993. Hoff’s cigar and scenery chewing performance. Amazon for £2.09 tells you all you need to know.
©WARNER BROS

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 “WITH THE MAJOR COMIC BOOK
PUBLISHERS OUT OF THE PICTURE,
THE WAY WAS PAVED FOR SMALLER,
INDEPENDENT COMPANIES SUCH AS
IMAGE, DARK HORSE AND OTHERS
TO FILL HOLLYWOOD’S DEMAND FOR
A BOX OFFICE SUCCESS”

While Image was getting ready to set the comics industry on its
head, at DC the fate of the company’s comic-to-movie adaptations
would be at the mercy of parent company Warner Bros. At Marvel,
the few properties that were drawing Hollywood interest such as a
James Cameron directed adaptation of Spider-Man were tied up in
complex deals and legal issues.
With the major comic book publishers out of the picture, the
way was paved for smaller, independent companies such as Image,
Dark Horse and others to fill Hollywood’s demand for a box office
success on the scale of Batman.
The mainstream triumph of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a toy line and cartoon series would
continue the global domination of the Heroes in A Half Shell when
they exploded from the sewer and onto screens in 1990. While neither
the animated show or movies would bare any semblance to the edgy
and distinctly more mature comic book origins of the Turtles, the
movie would prove a box office smash, spawning two sequels, one of
which featured the coolest man on the planet, Vanilla Ice.

Emerging from development hell in 1990, comic strip detective Dick

Tracy would be the next character to make the leap to the big screen.
Produced by Disney, Dick Tracy also drew heavily upon the star
power of tabloid bait megastar Madonna who was at the height of
her notoriety. A success at the box office while receiving mixed
critical reviews, Dick Tracy would receive comparisons to Batman,
largely for its outlandish villains, and its 30s and 40s aesthetic
(while Batman opted for a contemporary, yet heavily stylised setting,
Dick Tracy retained the 1930s setting of its pulp origins).

©NEW LINE CINEMA / ©BUENA VISTA PICTURES

Co-starring with Warren Beatty in

Dick Tracy, Madonna would go on
to have a 15-month affair with him.

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 In comics, the industry responded to Hollywood’s demand for One movie that no one could accuse of being influenced by the
more comic book adaptations and while Marvel would continue its Dark Knight’s adventures was The Mask, the first of two huge
struggle to get any notable projects off the ground, the success of successes for Dark Horse at the box office during the 90s. A mega-hit
Batman led to Warner green-lighting an inevitable sequel in Batman in the summer of 1994, in The Mask audiences were provided a relief
Returns, which was scheduled for release in 1992. and contrast to the gloom and darkness that was becoming
At Image, a host of brand new comic books were being created prevalent in comic book movies as both comic book and movie drew
by the biggest names in comics, and continued to hit the headlines upon the insanity of Tex Avery cartoons, perfectly casting rising star
as the ongoing, mainstream interest in comics led to each of the Jim Carey as the title character and cementing the actor as a comedic
Image Comics founders falling directly under the Hollywood tour de force for the 90s.
searchlight for new properties. “The Mask did $360 million worldwide when movie tickets were
“By the time I started at Image in 1993, Hollywood was already only four or five dollars each,” offers Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson,
courting the partners to some degree,” offers Matt Hawkins. who co-created The Mask. “Today The Mask would be a billion dollar
“Anything successful Hollywood courts, and within the first few movie, but the comic never sold more than 35,000 copies, even at its
weeks of my working for Image at Extreme Studios, Rob Liefeld was height,” adds Richardson, emphasising that success in Hollywood
starting to come through with people like Mario Lopez from Saved doesn’t always equate to success in comic book stores.
By The Bell. We had meetings with people like James Cameron, In contrast to The Mask, the 1994 adaptation of yet another pulp
Stephen Spielberg and Tom Cruise because Image was a big deal and comic book character The Shadow sought to directly capitalise on
Rob was the poster boy for the company in those early years,” adds the success and influence of Batman. Having begun production in
the Think Tank and Postal writer. the caped crusader’s wake, The Shadow would prove a prime
As Image was exploding in comics and exploring opportunities example of a project being green-lit in an effort to follow a
in Hollywood, Disney would follow Dick Tracy with another foray
into pulp fiction, this time with The Rocketeer. An 80s created,
‘Saturday morning serial’ inspired hero, The Rocketeer became a
moderate success and a cult favourite, but neither The Rocketeer or
Dick Tracy would be directly influenced by Batman’s success, having
both been in production during Batman’s release.

By the time 1994’s The Crow came around, the influence of Batman’s
success could be felt across Hollywood, however James O’Barr’s
©WARNER BROS / ©MIRAMAX / ©NEW LINE CINEMA

undead, vengeful anti-hero was already chock full of gothic

romanticism and needed to look no further than its own comic book
origins for inspiration. The Crow’s release would ultimately be
overshadowed by the death of its star, Brandon Lee, and would
receive comparisons to Batman that those familiar with the source
material considered unwarranted.

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 “WHILE FOREVER WOULD OUT-GROSS ITS PREDECESSOR
AT THE BOX OFFICE, LOST BOYS DIRECTOR SCHUMACHER’S
EFFORTS WOULD SET THE FRANCHISE DOWN AN ALTOGETHER
DIFFERENT AND ULTIMATELY FATAL, NEON-LINED ROAD”

commercially successful film, but by the time the movie was with the dark humour found in the lawman’s comic book origins,
released, audience tastes had moved on. Struggling to strike a chord ultimately failing to translate from page to screen as Sylvester
with cinemagoers, The Shadow suffered a similar fate to preceding Stallone mumbled “I Am The Law” at audiences that summer.
pulp adaptations The Rocketeer and The Phantom. Cult British comic book character Tank Girl, from the mind of
Dark Horse, however, was on a roll and in 1994 a second Dark artist and Gorillaz creator Jamie Hewlett, would follow Dredd as
Horse comic, Time Cop, was adapted for the big screen. Succeeding another character existing in a chaotic, post apocalyptic future who
Dark Horse’s own The Mask for the top spot at the US box office, would prove too bizarre for mainstream movie goers, proving a
Time Cop would be the highest grossing film of Jean Claude Van movie intended for the grunge generation at a time when the Seattle
Damme’s career and succeed in cementing Dark Horse as a scene was starting to fade into the distance.
powerhouse of comic-to-movie adaptations, continuing into the Come 1996, The Phantom proved another failure in the
next decade with Hellboy, Sin City and 300. impossible struggle to successfully adapt pulp characters for the
With Batman Returns proving too macabre for audiences, 1995 big screen and would also mark a downturn in Dark Horse’s
saw efforts to usher Batman away from the commercially less fortunes at the box office with Barbwire. Starring Baywatch babe
successful path he had taken, with a new vision for the Dark Knight Pamela Anderson, Barbwire would become noted for the
in the Joel Schumacher helmed Batman Forever. While Forever universally panned performance of Anderson in the ‘titular’ role,
would out-gross its predecessor at the box office, Lost Boys director and proved a catastrophic failure at the box office, marking
Schumacher’s efforts would set the franchise down an altogether another low point in the succession of mediocre adaptations and
different and ultimately fatal, neon-lined road. box office failures which were beginning to take a toll on audiences
and the comics industry alike.
By the time 1997 came around Marvel was still struggling to
1995 would also see film studios look across the Atlantic for comic bring Spider-Man to the big screen and DC was making efforts with
book inspiration, resulting in two commercial and critical failures an ultimately ill-fated Superman project starring Nicolas Cage.
adapted from British cult comic favourites. Judge Dredd by rights Meanwhile at Image, a revolutionary toy company and a highly
had the ingredients to have been a blockbuster success, with a publicised fascination with baseballs was helping to make iconic
young, talented director and producers who had long lobbied to Spider-Man artist, Todd McFarlane, a household name. While the
bring the character to the screen. In reality Dredd would struggle other Image founders would struggle to find a place in Hollywood

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 for their creations, McFarlane’s signature Image character Spawn licensing of Marvel properties, leading to two further Blade sequels,
would become the first and only character from the publisher to a TV series and paving the way for the development of Marvel’s first
finds its way to cinemas. Heavily laden with cutting-edge visual true blockbuster, The X-Men. And the rest, as they say, is history!
effects, Spawn was directed by former ILM staffer Mark Dippe and
received nominations for achievement in make-up and visual
effects, leading to a critically acclaimed HBO animated series as well So, what makes a comic book movie a success and what is the secret
as to McFarlane directing Grammy nominated music videos for the ingredient that determines the difference from a ‘Batman’ and a
likes of Pearl Jam. ‘Barbwire’? “There’s a difference between a film based on a comic
Despite the success of Men In Black in the same year, another book, which could be any genre, and a super hero film,” offers Matt
1997 offering, Batman and Robin, would prove a final nail in the Hawkins. “Non super hero comic book films are treated the same
coffin for the Batman franchise in that decade, and it seemed that way as novels, they try to develop them and use what they want and
the comic-to-movie craze was all but dead as Dark Horse closed the throw out what they don’t. For super hero films to work they need to
decade with a well intentioned but ultimately flawed Mystery Men in be treated like modern mythology, but there is a need to tell the
1999. Mystery Men would close out the decade as a failure, but it was stories on a level where audiences can feel for the characters, which
the previous year’s Blade in 1998 which would prove light at the end is where having characters that are too powerful is problematic,
of the tunnel. they become un-relatable.”
“Ultimately… quality sells,” concludes Tom DeFalco. “Blade, The
Mask, Men in Black… those were good movies, and the bottom line
Starring action hero Wesley Snipes as Marvel’s obscure anti-hero with any movie is that quality sells. Judge Dredd is a fabulous
vampire hunter, Blade seemingly came out of nowhere, didn’t character where everyone wants to do at least one Judge Dredd story,
pander to its comic book origins or demand numerous outlandish but that Stallone movie was a crummy movie and if it’s a bad movie,
villains, effectively breaking the mould of what super hero movies people won’t go to it.”
had become. Blade also cemented the first cinematic release from Whichever way your comic book movie allegiances lie, there’s a
Marvel Studios, being the first Marvel property to hit the big screen host of fantastic 1990’s comic book movies you can find these days
since Howard The Duck 12 years before and becoming a critical and on streaming and on demand services. In 2017 we are spoilt for
commercial success. Blade also ushered in new interest in the choice, and can enjoy them all, even if we watch them only once. GM
©WARNER BROS

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Ad.indd 1 09/02/2017 16:48
 TABLETOP
Words: ROB BURMAN
In a past life Rob was the editor of Tabletop Gaming magazine

TURTLES, LORDS OF THE RINGS AND

POKÉMON – YOUR AVERAGE SATURDAY
NIGHT IN FOR GEEKY MONKEY…

Y “YOU HAVE TO
ou can easily tell the age of someone by asking them to
sing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme tune; it’s a
little like cutting down a tree and counting the rings. ROLL SOME DICE
Perhaps they’ll sing the classic 1980s version full of radical
rhymes or maybe they’ll break into a rendition of the series
IN ORDER TO
from the turn of the millennium? They might even dare to SLAY THE ORCS,
hum the theme from the live action show… in which case, feel
free to walk away. Anyway, the point is that the Turtles have BEFORE
been around for absolutely ages, so it seems only fitting that ARRIVING AT
they’ve now got their own fantastic tabletop game.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of the Past MOUNT DOOM TO
(IDW Games, £82.99) is based on the recent TMNT comics by CHUCK THE ONE
IDW and gives you the chance to jump into the shells of
everyone’s favourite lean, green, fighting machines, while one RING INTO THE
player takes on the role of Shredder and the Foot Clan (boo!).
Each mission sees the Turtles rock up in their Turtle Van
VOLCANO”
before kicking butt against the Foot. A nice touch is that this
is a really collaborative effort for the players using the Turtles.
You see, each Turtle comes with their own set of custom dice
that trigger special moves relevant to that Turtle. However,
you can also share the dice to help your brothers out when
they’re in a bit of a tight situation. The only exception to this
rule is maverick Raph who can hand out dice but can’t receive
them – a nice nod to his ‘cool but rude’ attitude.
As such gameplay accurately reflects the ‘feel’ of the
original comics and you really do feel like the Heroes in a Half
Shell while playing. There are some issues with the slightly
flimsy components but generally this is an absolute blast. up the options of going further on your adventure or
Next up is a refresh of an existing Lord of the Rings title potentially playing it safe to avoid getting captured.
from Fantasy Flight Games. In Journey to Mordor (Fantasy Finally, if you haven’t seen the outside world since
Flight Games, £12.99) one does not simply walk into Mordor, November and have been too busy exploring the tropical Alola
instead you have to roll some dice in order to slay the orcs, region, then now might finally be time to venture out of your
before arriving at Mount Doom to chuck the One Ring into the front door. That’s because the latest expansion in the hugely
volcano. Luckily, unlike all the films which take an age to popular Pokémon trading card series is the Pokémon Trading
watch, Journey to Mordor is a fast-paced push your luck dice Card Game Sun & Moon expansion (The Pokémon Company,
game that takes less than 30 minutes. Each player is given a £12.99). You can pick up a special themed deck to get your
little map of Middle Earth that they must use to track their collection started and get battling with the likes of Rowlett,
progress, as they roll the dice. However, you’ve got to weigh Litten or Popplio. GM

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 WIN! GAME OF THRONES 4D PUZZLE OF WESTEROS

CO MP E T I T I O N T IM E !
The ruler of the North has his seat in
Winterfell, it’s the traditional home of
THIS IS WESTEROS LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN
House Stark and is currently under the IT BEFORE. CELEBRATE THE NEW SERIES OF
command of Jon Snow. For now.
GAME OF THRONES COMING SOON TO SKY
BY RECREATING THE LAND PIECE-BY-PIECE
COURTESY OF 4D CITYSCAPE.

First of all there’s a 1,000+ piece jigsaw puzzle of the map of

Westeros to piece together, you will learn about the famous
locations seen in the show and be able to better understand
where the big battles have taken place. Then comes a
second layer, a 200+ piece jigsaw that replicates the current
landscape, making the terrain become a 3D model. You’re
not finished yet though, you also get 3D models of famous
300 miles long, The Wall stretches along cities and castles from King’s Landing to Winterfell, The
the border of the Seven Kingdoms and Wall to The Eyrie. It’s a must-have collectable for all fans of
is said to be more than 700 feet high to George R. R. Martin’s masterpiece.
keep out the White Walkers.

All you’ve got to do to win a Game of Thrones Puzzle of

Westeros is visit Geeky Monkey on Facebook or Twitter,
find the competition post, Like, Share or Comment before
answering the question you will find there. Email us your
answer along with this compo entry code…

GM18DRAGONS

facebook.com/geekymonkeymag
The Night’s Watch can be found at
Castle Black, located halfway along
twitter.com/thegeekymonkey
the length of The Wall at the northern
end of the Kingsroad.
We’ll select the winners at random on 23 March. Good luck!

TERMS & CONDITIONS: Prizes subject to availability. Competition open to mainland UK and Northern Ireland residents only. Employees of Uncooked Media Ltd and their families are not eligible to
enter. The competition closes at 23:59 on 22 March, entries received after that time will not be counted. Winners will be selected at random on 23 February and contacted via email. Prizes will be
delivered to mainland UK and Ireland addresses only, we do not post prizes to Eire. Uncooked Media Ltd reserves the right to withdraw one or all prizes without notification. The Editor’s decision is final
and no correspondence will be entered into.

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GM#18_099_Compo.indd 99 08/02/2017 21:06

 SLIDERS
B R O A D C A S T, 1 9 9 5 -1 9 9 9 // N E T W O R K , F O X / S C I - F I C H A N N E L
// S E A S O N S , 5 // E P I S O D E S , 8 8

SLIDE HARD…
Words: NATE DRAKE
On a parallel Earth, Nate is watching 90’s sci-fi classics

“W
hat if you could travel to parallel worlds? The same replaced by a fraternal duplicate of his named Mallory played by
year, the same earth, only different dimensions.” Robert Floyd.
When Sliders first skidded onto screens in March Fox washed their hands of the series after season three, but it
1995, these words introduced this quirky sci-fi series. It has was picked up by the Sci-Fi channel. Four and five were still a hit
enjoyed a recent renassiance through appearing recently on with fans, coming in at number two just behind Farscape but by
Netflix, as well as depicting a female President Clinton in the the time Sci-Fi realised this they had already committed funds to
episode The Weaker Sex. other projects such as First Wave. As such, the network seemingly
Jerry O’Connell portrays Quinn Mallory, a young prodigy lost interest and the series ended on a cliffhanger. Slide-Hards may
who crosses the ‘Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky’ bridge to alternate not have much longer to wait for a resolution. In an interview with
Earths, inviting his pompous Professor Maximilian Arturo (John Yahoo in March 2016 Jerry O’Connell said that Tracy Tormé had
Rhys-Davies) and computer store co-worker Wade Welles (Sabrina contacted him about a Sliders reboot. Watch this space! GM
Lloyd) along for the slide. Their initial wormhole also sucks in
singer Rembrandt ‘Crying Man’ Brown (Cleavant Derricks) as he’s The complete series of Sliders was released as a DVD box set
driving past Quinn’s basement laboratory, leading Arturo to utter last year from Universal Pictures.
the immortal lines, “I think I’ve just seen God and I could’ve
sworn he was driving a Cadillac.”
The series was written by Robert K Weiss and Tracy Tormé. “FOX WASHED THEIR HANDS
Fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation may be familiar with
Tormé’s penning of gritty film-noir holocharacter Dixon Hill.
OF THE SERIES AFTER SEASON
According to an interview with Sliders fan-site Earth Prime, THREE, BUT IT WAS PICKED UP
Tormé was inspired to create Sliders after discovering that eight
British marksmen once all fired at George Washington. The BY THE SCI-FI CHANNEL”
possibility of what would have happened had they not missed is
explored in the episode Prince of Wails, which depicts an
Imperialist British San Francisco, replete with red telephone
boxes and steak and kidney pudding.
Quinn’s double in the pilot episode compares sliding to a
roulette wheel, as though he has a timer which allows him to
open wormholes and visit other worlds, sliders cannot control
where they go. This problem is further compounded when the
team is forced to slide early, erasing the coordinates of their own
Earth Prime and landing them in the aforementioned Soviet
World. The timer later experiences another meltdown and begins
counting down from a random period as the Sliders exit each
wormhole ; if the group miss a slide, they’re stuck for 29.7 years
until another opens.
The general consensus on fan sites is that the series was
strongest with Tormé. He left during season three, as Fox moved
production from Vancouver to Los Angeles and brought in Exec
Producer David Peckinpah, who started pushing more action-
oriented episodes. Fox also dictated the order in which season one
and two episodes aired to try and bolster ratings, resulting in a
number of continuity errors.
Even the cast themselves didn’t escape Slider’s roulette wheel.
John Rhys-Davies who had been openly critical of the series’
writing was the first to leave, with the Professor being killed off by
first being diagnosed with a terminal illness, then having his brain
fluid drained, being shot and abandoned on a world that’s about to
explode. If the fan grapevine is to be believed, Sabrina Lloyd was
also let go after falling out with the new slider Kari Wuhrer, who
played tough-talking solider Maggie Beckett. Wade’s character was
©NBCUNIVERSAL TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION

shipped off to a breeding camp on a parallel world hosted by a

vicious Anthropoid race The Kromaggs who had perfected sliding
technology. Jerry O’Connell, who initially brought on his brother
Charlie to co-star as Quinn’s on-screen brother Colin, also left at
the end of season four. This was explained away by Quinn being

100 G E E K Y M O N K E Y M A R C H 2 0 1 7

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 RETRO TV

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GM#18_100-101_RetroTV.indd 101 08/02/2017 21:07

 GEEK CHIC
CHEWIE, WE’RE HOMEWARE…

HOODIES T-S H I R T S H AT S TIME

Dr Bruce Banner Star Wars: Episode V Slaughtered Lamb Baseball Cap Classic Arcade Wristwatch
The Gamma Ray Project has a head Join the Tauntaun Heating and Insulation You don’t often find caps influenced by Inspired by the classic arcade machines
of research, none other than Dr Bruce team with this two-tone tee. An American Werewolf in London, so of the 80s, this Think Geek exclusive
Banner. A great hoodie with orange £20 // DA RK BUNN Y T EE S .COM grab one while you can! watch is an amazing thing.
inside and green print. £ 16 // NERD OH .CO.UK $ 50 (£4 O) // T HINKG EEK .COM
£ 30 // NERD OH .CO.UK Jetman ZX Spectrum
If you remember playing Jetpac then Star Wars Imperial Officer hat Vintage Sci-fi Comics Clock
Pac Wars Geeky Monkey is certainly the right Using references from the Lucasfilm Almost 21cm in diameter with a Planet
This hoodie comes in a choice of colours magazine for you. God bless ya! archives, this Imperial Officer hat will Comics 1946 cover – love it!
and takes the geek mash-up to a new £ 15 // NERD OH .CO.UK make you look right dapper! £ 2 5 // Z A Z ZL E .CO.UK
level. A Pac-Man Death Star munching $ 5 0 (£4 0) // BIG B A DTOYS TORE.COM
stormtroopers? Crazy fools. Zombie Portrait Star Wars Boba Fett watch
£ 15 // EBAY.CO.UK Incredible zombie face tee that on one The Warriors – Furies trucker cap We’ve met Boba Fett, he was a nice chap.
wash pulls the die out of the print and As this issue is a celebration of the This tribute watch perfectly captures the
Mega Man merges it in the fabric to great effect. movie – here’s the Baseball Furies cap! character’s look from Empire and Jedi.
Officially licensed by Capcom, this Mega £ 2 2 // T HEMOUN TA IN .CO.UK £ 16 // E T S Y.COM £97 // Z AV V I .COM
Man hoodie has a great 3D helmet design
and an arm with a Mega Blaster lights Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Marvel Deadpool Beanie Alien Ripley clock
printed onto it. The perfect way for 8-bit Inspired by the upcoming movie, Dark The best comic book characters can be Over at Red Bubble you can customise an
gamers to stand out. Bunny made a ‘Showtime, A-Holes!’ tee. recognised by just a colour and shape. Alien clock – choose a frame and hands.
$ 30 (£ 24) // T HINKG EEK .COM £20 // DA RK BUNN Y T EE S .COM $ 12 (£ 10) // T HINKG EEK .COM £ 20 // REDBUBBL E .COM

102 G E E K Y M O N K E Y M A R C H 2 0 1 7

GM#18_102-103_GeekChic.indd 102 09/02/2017 16:59

 WA L L E T S B AG S ACC E S S O R I E S O F F T H E WA L L
Assassin’s Creed Wallet Mario/Donkey Kong Messenger Batman Hip Flask Death Star Kitchen Timer
Backed by Ubisoft, this wallet is simple This official Nintendo bag comes with a It gets cold wandering the streets of Keep your cakes from burning with
but effective with a cool Syndicate logo. reversible flap – Mario on one side and Gotham late at night so Batman needs a some help from the Death Star. It
£12 // RED5 .CO.UK Donkey Kong on the other. little nip of something medicinal. flashes and zaps at the end!
£ 2 5 // S OME T HINGG EEK Y.COM £10 // RED5 .CO.UK £15 // A M A ZON .CO.UK
Doctor Who Hinge Wallet
Nice and sturdy with a hinge opening, the Harry Potter Hogwarts Crest Duffle Zelda Hyrulian Crest belt Star Trek Vegan Leather Corset
TARDIS will never lose your change. Simple but effective, this duffle bag looks An official belt from the big N with a zinc Not even the Klingons would agree with
£ 10 // FORBIDDENPL A NE T.CO.UK like the kind of thing Harry would have alloy Hyrulian belt. It comes in sizes up to killing animals, so try a Vegan corset!
taken to P.E. at Hogwarts. XL for fast food lovers. $33 (£26) // T HINKG EEK .COM
Batman Japanese wallet £ 15 // FORBIDDENPL A NE T.CO.UK £ 20 // S OME T HINGG EEK Y.COM
Take your 1960’s Batman geek to the Captain Kirk Chair Beanbag cover
next level with a Japanese logo. In Frood Tote bag Superman Rhodium Cufflinks Is your beanbag feeling naked? Cover
striking orange, this is a great item. Always make sure you know where your Made from Rhodium with black detailing, it with a Captain Kirk cover so you can
£ 11 // FORBIDDENPL A NE T.CO.UK towel is in life. Thanks Douglas. these unsurprisingly come as a pair. press Enterprise buttons while relaxing.
£ 7 // SOMETHINGGEEK Y.COM £15 // RED5 .CO.UK $90 (£72) // T HINKG EEK .COM
Jaws billfold wallet
Multi card slots, ID pocket but most Chewbacca record bag Rogue One Glow Stud Earrings Star Wars Ice Tray
importantly the iconic image of Jaws Just reduced by £20, grab these Chewie Take your Star Wars ears to the next level Turn Han Solo in his Carbonite freeze
taking a snack on the front. bags before they’re gone! with these glow in the dark earrings. into cool ice cubes for your drinks!
£ 16 // HOUSEOFMYSTERIOUSSECRETS.COM £10 // RED5 .CO.UK $8 (£7) // T HINKG EEK .COM £15 // A M A ZON .CO.UK

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GM#18_102-103_GeekChic.indd 103 09/02/2017 16:59

 [RETRO GAME]
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Y E A R , 2 0 0 4 // F O R M AT, O R I G I N A L LY P S 2
// D E V E L O P E R , R O C K S TA R N O R T H
// P U B L I S H E R , R O C K S TA R G A M E S

Thirteen years ago, just a few months prior to its October

release, UK journalists were invited to Rockstar’s London
offices to try out life as a disenfranchised Los Santos youth.
They expected violence, murder and urban mayhem, and to
see exactly how hard the GTA series was going to push against
common human decency. What they experienced, however,
was a pleasant drive through some West Coast countryside.
Looking back through the distortion of selective memory,
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas can be seen as game swamped
in controversy that enabled players to live out their fantasies,
if their fantasies were flavoured by films like Boyz In Da Hood,
Menace 2 Society, and the Wayans Brothers classic Don’t Be
a Menace to South Central While Drinking your Juice in the
Hood. But such reflections only cover its surface quality. San
Andreas ran deep, and while it featured the usual suspects
of gangs and guns, racism, sexism, drugs, drunks and traffic
code violations, it also took place in an expansive world so
convincing that it generated its own mythology.
We have to mention the Hot Coffee fiasco, of course.
No San Andreas reminiscence would be complete without
mentioning that the game did indeed include clumps of
vaguely humanoid polygons plunging away at each other in an
abstractly sexual manner, but only should the player have spent
hours wooing their in-game girlfriend and, after numerous
successful dates, be asked into her home for a steaming
beverage, having previously hacked the game’s actual code
to unlock experimental files that developer Rockstar North
failed to properly delete. Senator Hilary Clinton certainly
noticed, somehow, and was most concerned. And then there
was monomaniacal U.S. attorney Jack Thompson, who wanted
the game banned even if it didn’t feature a bit of bleary rumpy
pumpy, and would go on to call the next game in the series “the
gravest assault upon children in this country since polio.”
The thing is that people didn’t play the game and keep on
playing it to get virtually laid, or to program their brain to kill.
For much of the time they didn’t even play to unlock missions.
They played because they were given the most immersive
sandbox ever created, where they’d pedal a BMX up to the
top of a mountain just so they could ride it all the way down
again, because doing so felt good and, more importantly, like
riding a BMX up and down a mountain. On their way they
might even wonder if they’d encounter Bigfoot lurking in the
trees, because their mate swore that he was there, somewhere.
They’d heard a rumour. Maybe they’d just spend an afternoon
eating burgers, just to get fat. Or go diving off the coast, just
because they could, and the more they did, the greater their
lung capacity would get.
Obviously there’s the nastiness and the vulgarity, the
mass shootings and all the trappings that used to get tabloid
newspapers so apoplectically outraged. If you don’t find such
things enjoyable then no Grand Theft Auto would be for you,
but to frame the groundbreaking San Andreas as merely being
about such things would be to totally ignore the sheer beauty
of its enormity.
It was an entire U.S. state, where you could drive from
the countryside into a city and by doing so maybe not even
notice the subtlety of your changing surroundings. You
didn’t hit a loading screen. You passed small settlements and
hamlets, met the tiniest wedge of urban sprawl, and passed
through suburbs as nature eventually gave way to concrete,
steel, and a living, breathing metropolis. It was an incredible
achievement, and one that Rockstar Games was right to make
sure journalists fully appreciated. GM

104 G E E K Y M O N K E Y J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7

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 ©ROCKSTAR GAMES

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GM#18_104-105_RetroGame.indd 105 08/02/2017 21:09

 B A C K TA L K

The Resurrectionist
GUY HENRY FAMILIAR TO UK VIEWERS THANKS TO HIS ROLE AS HENRIK HANSSEN IN
HOLBY CITY, STAGE AND SCREEN ACTOR GUY HENRY IS BEST KNOWN
INTERNATIONALLY FOR PLAYING THE FINAL MINISTER OF MAGIC PIUS
THICKNESSE IN HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 AND PART
2, AND GRAND MOFF TARKIN IN ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY. GEEKY
MONKEY RECENTLY CAUGHT UP WITH GUY TO DISCUSS HIS WORK AS TARKIN.

When did you first see Star Wars? chat with Gareth over lunch about something. I don’t
I am not what you’d call a Star Wars aficionado, I don’t think my agent even knew what it was. Surrounded in
think I’ve ever seen a whole Star Wars film other than high, high secrecy Gareth then took me to one of the
A New Hope, funnily enough. Was it not digitally most popular, gossip-ridden media haunts in London
remastered and re-released a few years back? where of course we spoke in whispers about this project.
But I was very much aware from that moment that I
Yes, twenty years ago. must not say anything about it at all. I assured them of
Twenty? Blimey. I think that’s probably the only Star my compliance with that and then absolutely everything
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Wars film I’ve ever seen, isn’t that dreadful? I remember was explained to me, as far as they knew how they were
ROYAL SHAKESPEARE
being very confused by it, but I’ve got to understand it going to do it. I’m not sure Gareth himself at that initial
COMPANY [1991-2013] and indeed grown to love it. meeting in May 2015 was sure exactly how we were
// S TAGE going to do it.
BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS [2003] You and Peter Cushing have a shared role, that of When somebody looks you in the eye and says,
// F I L M F O U R Sherlock Holmes, which you both portrayed. Did his “this has never been done before in the history of film,”
performance as Tarkin in Star Wars stand out to you, I said, “well, should we do a test?” They’d obviously seen
ROME [2005]
// B B C / H B O was it something you remembered? a showreel of mine, had a look at work I’d done and were
No, but on the other hand by sheer coincidence Peter brave enough to plump for me without me screen-testing
V FOR VENDETTA [2006]
// W A R N E R B R O S
Cushing does happen to be one of the actors that I love, or anything like that. I was the one who said, “let’s have
there’s something about him I really admired, which a look at it and see if I can pull it off,” and so we did and
STARTER FOR 10 [2006] is why when Gareth Edwards asked me if I would they stuck with me through and through. I remember
// I C O N F I L M
like to do this venture I was very, very daunted by it. saying at one point, “If you don’t think the voice is right,
THE IT CROWD [2010] Partly because you don’t want to be in a huge film like why don’t you get Rory Bremner the impressionist?” and
// C
 HANNEL 4
Rogue One, part of such a huge and much-loved saga they said, “No, we want you.” But it was quite hard to
HOLBY CITY [2010] of stories, and be the tall, thin idiot who lets the whole believe that it would come off as well as it seems to have
// B B C thing down. But also I didn’t want to let Peter Cushing done because I’m not a mimic, not an impressionist so it
HARRY POTTER AND THE
down because he’s an actor that I’ve always admired was only an essence I could achieve.
DEATHLY HALLOWS – and liked. So I was genuinely bloody frightened by
PART 1 & 2 [2010] doing it, I must say. It seems clear that they didn’t want a Cushing
// WA R N E R B R O S
impersonation, they wanted Guy Henry’s interpretation
LIFE IN SQUARES [2015] When Gareth offered the role to you, was it explained of Tarkin. Did that give you a bit more latitude?
// B B C
that you would be working in concert with not only Yes, and we’d do some takes where I would be doing my
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS your director but also ILM? Was that made clear from level best to be as like Peter Cushing vocally as I could
©BBC/KIERON MCCARRON

STORY [2016] the off? with the rolled Rs. I had a template line which I would
// L U C A S F I L M / WA LT D I S N E Y
Yes, my agent got passed on an invitation to have a quick always repeat to myself which was the line, “You would

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 ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY

prefer another target, a military target?” That was the

line I would say over and over to myself.

The film was shot with a number of different takes and

intonations, giving the editors plenty of options. Was
that something you found interesting, changing the
intonation because it can be read in a different way?
Yes, I had more false wraps on this film than certainly
I’ve ever had before. It was always, “That’s it, that’s a
wrap on Guy” and several months later they’d come back
and say, “we just want to do another bit because we’ve
changed the story again” or “we want to change another
word in this line,” so literally you’d go through all the
rigmarole and you’d change one word, or half a line.
Sometimes with Ben [Mendelsohn, Director Krennic]
there, sometimes not. It was a long haul, it really was.
Obviously being a paranoid neurotic, as you can
tell from this conversation – you don’t get to be this thin HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1
without being neurotic – I thought, “this is all about me,
I can’t do it, definitely me, my fault.” But most of the time
it wasn’t me, they kept changing the story for the better,
tweaking and changing, and it was worth it.

How proud are you of being part of this leap forward in

technology as well as giving a great performance?
Well thank you, I’m genuinely proud. People seem to
WE’D DO SOME TAKES WHERE I WOULD
have accepted it. If I’d failed or the CGI hadn’t been BE DOING MY LEVEL BEST TO BE AS LIKE
as wonderful and amazeballs as it is, I’d have begged
Disney to keep it secret forever that I was anything to PETER CUSHING VOCALLY
do with it at all. Obviously, now it has been largely well
received I’m very proud and extremely relieved. GM
©LUCASFILM / ©WARNER BROS

It is rumoured that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will

be on DVD and blu-ray 28 April.

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 GEEKYMONKEY MARCH 2017 // ISSUE 18

NEXT
W W W. G E E K Y M O N K E Y.T V

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ALIEN
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and its views are not those of any company mentioned
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remain © and ™ of their respective owners. No part of this
magazine may be reproduced without the express written
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ON SALE 23 MARCH
// KNIGHT RIDER REMOTE CONTROL TOYS // NEW MOVIES & TV COVER PHOTOS: ©
 BBC/BIG FINISH PRODUCTIONS, ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES,

THE COMIC CON SURVIVAL GUIDE // RICK AND MORTY

©LUCASARTS, Ƒ©USA NETWORK
//
// THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE: AN ALTERNATE HISTORY
©20TH CENTURY FOX

108 G E E K Y M O N K E Y M A R C H 2 0 1 7

GM#18_108_Flannel.indd 108 08/02/2017 21:22

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PFS 1.indd 1 23/11/2016 13:08
 COME OUT TO PLAY…
…IN BIRMINGHAM THIS APRIL.
GEEKY MONKEY JUMPED AT
THE CHANCE TO REMINISCE
ABOUT THIS CULT 70’S
MOVIE WITH IT’S LEAD MAN
MICHAEL BECK, AKA SWAN.

W
hat is it that makes a movie resonate in the chaos the crowd turns on Cleon and the rest of The Warriors
down the decades? It’s a mystery that scatter, anaware that they have been implicated in the murder. The
the likes of George Lucas, Ridley Scott Riffs put out a hit on The Warriors, a late night radio DJ updating the
and Steven Spielberg must have often city’s gangs on their whereabouts between records.
pondered, their movies from the 1970s The Warriors are stranded the wrong side of NYC, their war chief
having gone on to found collossal Swan takes control and they must battle their way through a
franchises with merchandising, sequels succession of gang encounters to get back to their home turf, all the
and remakes. Then there’s Walter Hill, time with Luther and The Rogues hot on their tail.
writer and director of the low budget Paramount movie The Warriors. What makes The Warriors such a stand out movie are the comic
Based on the 1965 novel by Sol Yurick, it tells the story of New York book overtones. Director Walter Hill always wanted to include comic
gangs in the 1970s and manages to perfectly capture a New York City storyboards between scenes, something that was finally realised in
of its time, but was powerful enough to build from its low key release the 2005 Ultimate Director’s Cut. But the comic book influence
on 9 February 1979 and go on to inspire videogames, comic books and extended to the style of each of the 21 street gangs the movie
Comic Con fandom almost four decades on. included. The Warriors themselves wore leather waistcoats with their
The Warriors is the kind of movie you probably caught your dad logo on the back, and were bare chested. The Rogues had leather caps
watching late at night in the early Eighties. An 18-rated, gritty gang and jackets, their leader teasing Swan with the iconic line, “Warriors,
warfare movie where a Coney Island gang called The Warriors take come out to play!” as they tracked them down to Coney Island. With
the subway through New York to a gang summit in The Bronx called black and white face make up and baseball outfits, it’s perhaps the
by Cyrus, the leader of the most powerful gang in the city – the Baseball Furies that most people remember, attacking The Warriors
Gramercy Riffs. With only 20,000 cops in New York, and the gang in Central Park with their bats.
members outnumbering them five to one, Cyrus proposes a truce and With original Warriors cast members preparing to visit the UK
that the gangs work together to take over the city. Only he is then this April to celebrate the movie with fans, Geeky Monkey got to talk
shot dead by Luther, leader of The Rogues. The twist is that Luther with Swan himself, Michael Beck, at his home in the US, about the
frames The Warriors leader Cleon for the murder. As the cops arrive, longevity of the movie he made when he was a young actor of 29…

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 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

With

So you made The Warriors back in 1978. Do you find it amazing that Did you do much research into gangs before taking on the role?
we’re still talking about the movie 38 years on? Well some, not a great deal. I lived at the time on the Upper West Side,
Absolutely amazing. I mean, you know… none of us had any idea… and a couple of blocks away from where I lived there was a local street
who does? With any kind of movie, that it will become a cult movie gang headquarters. So I kind of walked up there and kind of observed
that transcends generations. I find it mind boggling. I am very behaviour and stuff like that. I read Sol Yurick’s book, but you know,
humbled and grateful to be a part of it. Swan was fairly self explanatory from the script and I thought about
the things that drive young men and women into street gangs. The
Do you think The Warriors captured the feel of New York in the late lack of family, that they want to be in some place where they are
Seventies? To new viewers today, it seems realistic, but was it? accepted and loved, for lack of a better way of describing it. They want
Yes and no. Yes, New York was a lot grittier and more dangerous than to belong to something because they don’t feel they belong to a
it is now. Mayor Giuliani in the Nineties did a great job of cleaning up family. So I put my mind into why Swan was the way he was and part
the seedier areas. Times Square used to be a dangerous place to go, of this organisation.
now it’s a Disneyland! When I lived there, if you stepped one block off
of Times Square you were dealing with pimps and drug dealers, and Which scenes did you particularly enjoy filming?
everybody else on 8th Avenue. If you went over to 9th you were Oh many. Walter has said that he cast this movie with not only
taking your life in your hands. So yes, in the late Seventies, when I having in mind that the people he cast could play the role, but were
lived there, the film The Warriors captures what it was like to be in physically going to be capable of doing what was required, and have
the city at that time. Yet, it also… because Walter had a comic book the stamina of doing four months of it. It was gruelling, you know?
vision in his mind… there were no street gangs dressed like any of the But it was fun. We were all in much better shape at the end of this
gangs in the movie. They just did not dress that way, so visually it was movie than when it began. I was an athlete all through school and
very different, but certainly the character, because the city is very university, so it was fun to be running and play fighting and stuff. I
much an equal character to any one of the personas in the film, so it loved it, and had a great time doing it. So, the Baseball Furies fight
does capture what the city was like in those days. It’s a quintessential scene, the fight in the bathroom with The Punks. All of those things,
New York film. they were highly choreographed dances that required physical skill
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 Once you’ve seen this movie
you can never travel on the
New York subway without
thinking of The Warriors.

to do, so I found that challengning and fun. I would say from just a would say The Baseball Furies for Halloween, they get to paint their
pure emotional acting point of view, my favourite scene was the one face and put on the Yankees uniform… they love that.
with Mercy and Swan on the subway when the prom couple comes in.
I loved doing that scene, even though for Deborah and I, sitting on the Here’s a real geeks question on the movie: Renbrandt was meant to
other side of the train carriage, on the night we shot the portion of us be The Artist, do you think Swan was disappointed he only sprayed
the other guys weren’t there, we were looking at strips of tape on the shaky Ws around New York?
window opposite. But that’s film acting! I enjoyed all of it, it was a fun [Laughs] They were kind of shaky Ws, weren’t they? Marcelino
movie to make. [Sánchez] had many gifts, but I don’t think that tagging was one of
them. Swan… naa, he wasn’t disappointed, he just wanted it marked.
Do you ever think of the movie when you’re sitting on the subway
these days? There are some great deleted scenes from the movie: The Warriors
I live out in the country, so I don’t get on the subway [laughs], but walking up the boardwalk in Coney Island, silhouetted, is a
when we went back in 2015 to do The Warriors reunion at Coney favourite. As an actor, do you miss certain scenes in the final cut?
Island, Rolling Stone did a video of us now dressed in Warriors vests, No, Walter explained… we shot for about ten days, introductions for
getting on the same subway train and we rode for two or three stops: all the chracters at The Warriors headquarters in Coney Island in
these old men. It was quite interesting because there were real the daytime. Each of us was introduced in a symbolic way. Swan’s
passengers sitting there who started talking about the film, “Oh these introduction was that he was a good knife guy, which then pays off
are The Warriors!” They know this movie, it was cool. in the final confrontation when he throws the knife into the arm of
David Patrick Kelly’s Luther character. Around three quarters of the
Which was the toughest gang in the movie to your mind? Bar The way through shooting the movie, when we started shooting those little
Warriors, obviously. pops of Cleon speaking that would then cut into the other gangs, those
The toughest? Well I don’t know… but the Turnbull ACs, with those took the place of the deleted scenes. Walter came to us on the night and
bald heads, looked like they would be pretty tough, didn’t they? he explained that as he cut this picture together, it just makes sense
that this movie from the start to the final confrontation on the beach
So which gang do you think has held up the best fashion-wise? needs to be in the darkness. It starts at night, it ends in the daylight. It
The Hi-Hats have got to be embarrassed to look back really. doesn’t work as well to start in the daylight. So I think we understood
[Laughs] Well, fashion-wise. Oh my gosh. There were so many that, but he took the time to explain, he didn’t leave us in the dark.
different gangs going on. When you go to any kind of fan There used to be a bootleg cut where all of that early footage was put
convention, the two the cosplayers and fans are dressed in are The back, but I’ve never seen it so I have no idea whether it would work, but
Warriors vests and The Baseball Furies with the make-up on. I I think it would slow the action down.

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 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

“ TH AT WO N D ER W HEEL T HEN ,
BA M … YO U’ R E R IG HT IN TO
TH E ACT IO N ”
MICHAEL BECK PREFERS THE
ORIGINAL CUT OF THE WARRIORS

Do you have a favourite cut of the movie?

Walter Hill, when they did the Director’s Cut around the 25th
Anniversary, his original intention and desire when we made the
movie was to have those comic book swipes between scenes. But in
the day, back then in 1978, all that artwork would have to be hand
drawn and would have been expensive, and this was a $5 million low
The original 1979 Paramount
budget film. So Paramount was not going to pony up the dough for Pictures poster used the amazing
all this artwork. It was never something that was going to be realised painted artwork that you will have
then. So I was glad that he, as a director and visionary of this movie, seen on our back cover.

was able finally to cut together the movie that he saw in his mind. But
I personally agree with all of the fans, I’ve never heard a fan say they
like the Director’s Cut better, we all like the original movie’s cut. It
just starts… bam… that Wonder Wheel then, bam… you’re right into
the action. For me, those comic book swipes just stop the action. They
stop the forward motion, as a viewer, they kind of break the fourth
wall for me. They take you out of the story.

Yes, we prefer the original cut best. Here’s a hardcore fan’s

question: Do you think Swan would still be in The Warriors after
that night, as he talks of taking off?
That’s a good philosophical question because I think that he would
have moved on. I really do. I think that in the way that I interpreted it
and played it at the time, it was a lightbulb moment for him. Having
gone through what he went through to get back there, looking out for
his guys, looking around and going, “Wow! We nearly got killed, for
this?” Looking back, I think that maybe we would have moved on.
There was more to life than being part of this group of guys.

You helped Rockstar Games with The Warriors game, what did you
think of the finished result?
All of The Warriors were asked if they wanted to voice their parts in
it, and I accepted the job. But I’ve never seen it or played it, because
I’m not a gamer. My gaming kind of stopped when my soon to be
34-year-old son was a young lad and he was into Mario Bros. I would
put him to sleep at night and might play a game of it. I’m more an
avid reader. But I’ve talked to fans, you’d be surprised how many
younger fans of this movie actually got turned on to the movie
because they got The Warriors videogame, not knowing that it was
based on a movie, then they got turned on to the movie. They say it
was a challenging game.

Have you stayed friends with The Warriors down the years?
Oh very much so, and I think that’s why we so enjoy having reunions.
It gives us a chance to get together. Deborah Van Valkenburgh and
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 One of Michael Beck’s favourite scenes to film
was the fight with The Punks in the restroom.
How the punk wearing roller skates could ever
hope to win, we just don’t know.

I have maintained a close friendship over the years, she lived near
where my wife and family lived in California, so we would invite
her over for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve get togethers, so we
remained close. David Harris who played Cochise, he’s a godfather of
one of my children, I’m a godfather of one of his. Terry Michos who
played Vermin, we’ve remained close friends. If you asked what is the
greatest take away I have from that film, it is the lasting friendship
we formed during the making of the movie and we’ve maintained
over the years. We enjoy each other’s company, and we still have
the same sense of humour in ribbing each other. It’s unusual if that
happens in the film industry. It’s what I treasure most.

BOPPING ON CONSOLE Could you foresee the longevity of this movie? Did you ever think it
would last this long?
2005 was a big year for The Warriors, Oh my gosh no. We were all starting out actors, we were thrilled to
not only did Walter Hill get to release his be working. This was Paramount. This was a major studio movie, we
Ultimate Director’s Cut of the movie, but were just hoping it did well and we would get another job out of it. I
Rockstar Games was inspired to create don’t know that anyone had any idea that the movie that they were
a PlayStation2 game of The Warriors trip making was going to become a cult classic movie. How could you
across New York. When you think about know that?
it, the story lends itself perfectly to a
beat-’em-up. Classics like SEGA’s Streets of So what can you tell us about The Warriors UK Conclave that’s
Rage could even have been influenced by the cult movie. coming up in Edgbaston, Birmingham this April?
Rockstar’s Toronto studio took development duties, Well it’s going to be happening on April 1st and 2nd, at Edgbaston
recruiting many of the original cast to provide new voiceovers in Birmingham, and you know, it’s a Warriors only event. There
for their characters. For the most part it is a 3D street brawl, will be about probably eight or so cast members, mostly Warriors
what else? Where you get to live out the movie’s plot scene by and Deborah Van Valkenburgh who played Mercy. But I think
scene. The fights are split up with chase sequences and skill Konrad Sheehan is coming who played the Punk on roller skates at
events, like the grand finale where Swan must disarm Luther the bathroom fight. And Jery Hewitt may be coming who was the
with his knife skills. main Baseball Fury. We’re coming over to meet the fans in the UK.
The game went on to be released on Xbox, PSP and PS3, We’re excited.
while last July saw the launch of a PS4 optimised version on
the PlayStation Store. Our recommendation would be to track How often do you get together to do this kind of event?
down the PS2 original though, and dust off an old console. I would say the first time we did any kind of reunion was a dozen
Music tracks ‘I Love Livin’ in the City’ by Fear and ‘In the City’ years ago, every couple of years or something some convention
by Joe Walsh had to be removed from later versions due to might invite several of us along. In 2015 we had the Warriors only
licensing restrictions. event at Coney Island, so I would say we’ve probably done about
Rockstar made $37 million from the game, while the movie eight events in the past ten years. We always have a great time
brought in $22.5 million. That’s the power of games! when we see each other. GM
©ROCKSTAR

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 EVENT

LIVE EVENT THE WARRIORS

U K CO N C L AV E
THE WARRIORS UK CONCLAVE RUNS
FROM 1-2 APRIL IN EDGBASTION STADIUM,
BIRMINGHAM WHERE FANS CAN MEET THE
STARS OF THE MOVIE…

Can you dig it? The cast of classic movie The Warriors will
be making their way to the UK for a special Warriors 2017
celebration event this April. The UK Conclave will be the
first Warriors Conclave event in the UK, with capacity for
over 5,000 fans.
The event will feature exhibits, panels, cosplay, stalls
and a variety of other fun elements and surprises, plus
members of the cast including Michael Beck (Swan),
David Harris (Cochise), Terry Michos (Vermin), Brian Tyler
(Snow), Deborah van Valkenburgh (Mercy), Thomas Waites
(Fox), Dorsey Wright (Cleon) and more to be announced.
Tickets start from £10 for an adult entry to £99 for a
full meet and greet package.

Dates: 1st & 2nd April

Address: Edgbaston Stadium,
The County Ground,
Birmingham,
B5 7QU
Details: www.ukconclave.com
www.facebook/UKConclave
www.twitter.com/UKConclave

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WIN! THE MOVIES, TV & GAMES MAGAZINE FOR GEEKS
GAME OF

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4D MAPS » W W W. G E E K Y M O N K E Y.T V » £4.50 » ISSUE 18 » MARCH 2017

RETRO
TIME
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BACK TO
1982

» REWATCHING THE 1979 CLASSIC WITH SWAN

» I WAS IN STAR WARS TOO » TOP STREAMING TV » TARKIN INTERVIEW » REPLAYING PONG
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