To listen in your browser, click here: Episode 17

What was your favorite new franchise from last year?

We’ve compiled a list for you below, but if we missed one, feel free to chime in with it. Keep in mind that new franchise means the first game came out on the last generation of systems (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, DSi, PSP, or iPhone/iPad) and has more then one game currently out in the series. And yes, we did leave out games like Castlevania Lord of Shadows and Ratchet and Clank Future, since they are technically new series in older franchises.

Leave you pick in the comments below or email you choice to dcnetcast@gmail.com with the subject Fav Franchise.

Uncharted
Mass Effect
Bioshock
Borderlands
Infamous
Assassin’s Creed
Batman Arkham
Portal
Little Big Planet
Dragon Age
Prototype
The Darkness
Darksiders
Dead Space
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Gears of War
Dark Souls/Demon Souls
Force Unleashed
Blazblu
Valkyria Chronicles
Professor Layton
Pheonix Wright
Killzone
Resistance
Scribblenauts
Crackdown
Dead Island
No More Heroes
Dead Rising
Red Steel
Lost Planet
Saints Row
Fear
Puzzle Quest
Skate
Trauma Center
Army of 2
Kane and Lynch
Crysis
Plants Vs. Zombies
Angry Birds
Infinity Blade

Thanks for listening!!

To listen in your browser, click here: Dan’s Domain Episode 2

I’m posting a text version of the short essay I wrote/read in the audio below:

Star War, Firefly, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter. These are just some of the worlds most well know and favorite fictional franchises. I have a new one to add to that list… Avatar.

No, not James Cameron’s Avatar with the blue cat people. That’s great, but I’m talking about Avatar: The Last Airbender and it’s follow up series, The Legend of Korra. For those who know me, I am a die hard fan of most of the franchises listed before. For as long as I can remember, Star Wars has been my favorite and a huge influence on my life. (My wedding cake had Han and Leia as a topper). I used to have a 6 foot by 4 foot atlas of Middle Earth on my wall and read the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books every year. I believe that one of the greatest tragedies of the early 21st century was canceling Firefly. So it comes as a surprise to me when I say that the Avatar series might trump all of those.

Known as the Legend of Aang everywhere else besides the US, Avatar: The Last Airbender was created and brought to Nickelodeon in 2005 and ran for 3 seasons, completing it’s tale. Originally aimed at kids, this show tells the story of Aang, a young boy frozen in ice for a hundred years, who is discovered and woken up in order to defeat a great evil. Avatar takes place in an Earth-like land known as the Four Nations that is heavily inspired by Asian culture. One of the defining features in the show is that some people have to ability to manipulate or “bend” the 4 classical elements, Earth, Water, Fire, and Air, and at the time of the first series, the people of this world are split into different cultures based on the element that their people can bend.

Aang is special however. There is one person in the world with the ability to bend all four elements, know as the Avatar. When they die, their spirit is reincarnated into a new person from a different bending group. When Aang is found by 2 members of the Southern Water Tribe, it is his task to stop the Fire Nation, whose leader is attempting to take over and rule the Four Nations. Without spoiling anything, there is a follow up series starting in 2012 called The Legend of Korra. It takes place decades after the first and tells the story of the next Avatar after Aang. At this time, that show has completed it’s second of 4 seasons.

My purpose today is to convince everyone to watch this show, adults and children alike. There is one thing to keep in mind. The first half of season 1 (known as Book 1: Water) is not nearly as deep or detailed. Although it provides much information about the world and the main characters, and is absolutely necessary to watch, it is most definitely aimed at the Nickelodeon demographic. But stick with it, because the 2nd half of Book 1 and all of Book 2: Earth and Book 3: Fire comprise some of the greatest characters, world building, and story telling of, well, ever!

I’m going to finish this off by explaining why I love this show, its follow up, and the 2 comic stories.

First, the characters. This show is built around the main leads. Although most of them are children, the characters are funny, smart, sad, powerful, and have a strong understanding of right and wrong. But all of these qualities are built throughout the three seasons and you really get to see them go from naive kids to young adults who accept the weighty purpose that has been laid on them. As much as I love characters like Han, Luke, and Leia, you don’t have an opportunity to really learn about them, deep down. Characterization is perhaps the strongest part of this show and by the end, the viewer truly comes to care about them, almost as if they were real people.

Secondly, the world. The Four Nations are all comprised of cultures that we can recognizes, mainly Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, and Inuit. As the three main characters travel the world and meet new friends and enemies, we learn about these different cultures and how they interact with each other. They are never played as caricature or simple background, but rather we recognize them as real people, with lives outside of the time they are on screen. It makes the viewer invested in the plight of the show and gives real weight to the consequences of failure. The World of the Four Nations may not be as detailed as Middle-Earth or as vast as the Star Trek Universe, but it is involving in a why that other franchises have fallen short.

Finally, the action. I mentioned before that the characters can bend the elements. Although the bending ability has many uses, fighting is the most common and visually interesting one. That’s an understatement though. The action in this show ranges from cool to breathtaking, and that’s not a pointless superlative. There are moments of bending action that is literally edge of your seat, takes your breath away, awesome. (Check out the 1st season episode “The Fortuneteller” to see what I mean). And the detail in the bending alone is absolutely stunning. For a kids show, one might assume that the characters just wave there hands and poof, fire! But no! Each of the 4 bending styles is based on a real world martial art. The bending comes from the characters performing different forms and moves that are animated extraordinarily accurately. One could realistically learn to perform the same moves as an Air or Firebender in real life!! And as the show progresses and the animation improves, the action gets more and more stunning.

In closing, this is my number one must watched show. Although it is no longer on Netflix Instant Streaming, tracking down and buying the DVDs (make sure they are the complete collection for each Book, not the individual volumes) or getting it from iTunes, PSN, Xbox Marketplace, Amazon or the Nicktoons Network, is one of the best investments you can make for your library of media. Although this smart, funny, and touching show is perfect for children, it is equally perfect for adults because it never talks down the the audience. This is the part where I would normally say “if you like this, you’ll like Avatar The Last Airbender.” When in reality, if you like stories of any kind, I believe you’ll love this show. But for all the sakes in the world, never, ever, EVER watch M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender film! It is awful beyond words and is absolutely nothing like the show. Thanks for reading.

To listen in your browser, click here: Episode 16

To listen in your browser, click here: Episode 15

Fair warning, I’ve started watching these and they are not for everyone. The show started in 1963 and the budget was… less then large. Also, if you are not familiar with the current run of Doctor Who, starting with Series 1 from 2005, then these are not for you. Go to Netflix and watch the “restarted” series right now. They are absolutely brilliant.

My goal is not to have these watched by 11/23/13. That might be impossible. I am shooting for being all caught up by the Christmas episode of this year, but we will see. If you want to learn more about Doctors 1-8, then these are the episodes I would suggest watching. However, there are a few things you must know. First, unlike today, Doctor Who of old is broken into stories or serials, consisting of 2-6 (somethings 10) 25 minute episodes each. Be vary weary of anything over 4 episodes long. They can be difficult to sit through. I have also added a NF tag to the end of each title if the show is on Netflix. An * denotes a must see episode, and all the episodes on this list that are on Netflix are included in the must see. (That does not mean you should watch every episode that’s on Netflix). Everything, the 9th Doctor forward is must see, and any episodes without a NF, you’ll have to search for. Finally, the first 2 Doctors are missing a lot of episodes, that is why there is so few for them.

Without further ado, here is the list and let me know what you think in the comments below.

1st Doctor
001. An Unearthly Child (4 eps)
003. The Edge of Destruction (2 eps)
010. The Dalek Invasion of Earth (6 eps)

2nd Doctor
037. Tomb of the Cyberman (4 eps)
050. War Games (10 episodes)

3rd Doctor
051. Spearhead from Space (4 eps) NF
052. Doctor Who and the Silurians (7 ep)*
054. Inferno (7 episodes)
055. Terror of the Autons (4 episodes)*
059. The Daemons (5 episodes)
065. The Three Doctors (4 episodes) NF
070. The Time Warrior (4 episodes)
074. Planet of the Spiders (6 episodes)

4th Doctor
075. Robot (4 episodes)
076. Ark in Space (4 episodes) NF
077. The Soltaran Experiment (2 eps)
078. Genesis of the Daleks (6 episodes)*
082. Pyramids of Mars (4 episodes) NF*
088. Deadly Assassin (4 episodes)*
090. The Robots of Death (4 episodes)
091. The Talons of Weng-Chiang (6 eps)
092. The Horror of Fang Rock (4 eps) NF
097. The Invasion of Time (6 eps)
The Key to Time (98-103)*
098. The Ribos Operation (4 eps) NF
099. The Pirate Planet (4 eps) NF
100. The Stones of Blood (4 eps)
101. The Androids of Tera (4 eps) NF
102. The Power of Kroll (4 eps) NF
103. The Armageddon Factor (6 eps)
105. City of Death (4 eps) NF*
115. Logopolis (4 eps)

5th Doctor
116. Castrovalva (4 eps)
121. Earthshock (4 eps)*
125. Mawdryn Undead (4 eps)
126. Terminus (4 eps)
127. Enlightenment (4 eps)
129. The Five Doctors (Special)
133. Resurrection of the Daleks (2 eps)
135. The Caves of Androzani (4 eps) NF*

6th Doctor
136. The Twin Dilemma (4 eps)
142. Revelation of the Daleks (2 eps)
143. The Trial of the Time Lord*
Episodes 1-4 The Mysterious Planet
Episodes 5-8 Mindwarp
Episodes 9-12 Terror of the Vervoids
Episodes 13-14 The Ultimate Foe

7th Doctor
144. Time and the Rani (4 eps)
147. Dragonfire (3 eps)
148. Remembrance of the Daleks (4 ep)
152. Battlefield (4 eps)
154. The Curse of Fenric (4 eps) NF*
155. Survival (3 eps)

8th Doctor
156. Doctor Who: The Movie
The Night of the Doctor (Day of the Doctor Prequel)*

9th Doctor
-Series 1 NF

10th Doctor
Doctor Who: Children in Need (Short)
167: The Christmas Invasion (Special) NF
-Series 2 NF
178: The Runaway Bride (Special) NF
-Series 3 NF
Time Crash (Short)
188. Voyage of the Damned (Special) NF
-Series 4 NF
199. The Next Doctor (Special) NF
200. Planet of the Dead (Special)
201. The Waters of Mars (Special) NF
202. The End of Time (2 parts, Special) NF

11th Doctor
-Series 5 NF
213. A Christmas Carol (Special)
Space Time (2 parts, Short)
-Series 6 NF
225. The Doctor, the Widow, & the Wardrobe (Special)
Pond Life (5 parts, Short)
-Series 7 Part 1
231. The Snowman (Special)
-Series 7 Part 2
240. The Day of the Doctor (Special)

The video “The Night of the Doctor” was released today as a prequel to the upcoming special, but don’t expect any Matt Smith screen time. This short jumps in the TARDIS and takes us back to sometime between 1996 and 2005 by introducing new comers to the 8th Doctor. Well, his demise that is. There has been a lingering question since the series was “restarted.” What happened to the 8th Doctor? He only got one movie after all. This, folks, is the answer to that question. It also answers another question, and we are getting into major spoiler territory here so cover your eyes if you haven’t seen the series 7 finale.

Who was John Hurt’s character at the end of series 7?

Check out the video below to find out in “The Night of the Doctor!”

Did you think we had forgotten about you? On the contrary! Although the holiday season has taken it’s toll, time wise, the work continues. No new episodes of either podcast yet, but the website has gotten a significant facelift. And that’s not all.

At the top menu of the new site, you’ll notice categories for each podcast that we do as well as individual sections for both Cody and I. Although everything, podcast, text, and video, will appear on the front page, you can click on those links to see individual works in the order they are posted.

We hope you enjoy the new layout as well as all upcoming content and look forward to hearing your thoughts on what we do here.

Stay Awesome! – Dan

This is the end of Batman’s first year. But we’re only getting started here at the Batcast. In this issue, we discuss the this then great “Journey Into Knight” and TAS keeps getting better! News ends at 4:33. Intro Music – Batman Theme (Batman the Animated Series) by kelen_pl from Soundcloud

To listen in your Bat-browser, click here: Issue 08

Welcome, The Joker! We get our first 2 in order Jorker stories with The Man Who Laughs, and Batman: Confidential’s “Do You Understand These Rights?” Plus, an excellent episode of TAS. News Ends at 6:07. Intro Music – Batman Theme (Batman the Animated Series) by kelen_pl from Soundcloud

To listen in your Bat-Browser, click here: Issue 07