V Premieres Tonight

V, 2009 Edition

I missed the miniseries V in 1983, and its sequel in 1984, and the series in 1984-85. As I recall, I was between marriages #1 and #2 and couldn’t afford a TV, much less cable. Too bad, as I would have really gotten into it at the time. In fact, I enjoyed watching the marathon reruns on cable (SyFy to be exact, but I hate the new name) over the past few days. To be honest, I enjoyed giggling over the big hair and the tight uniforms as much as the dramatic turns. Oh yeah, I made a passing remark about the impossibility of humans sexually reproducing with reptiles (much less alien reptiles), but I then said to myself, “It’s just a TV show.” Suspension of disbelief is necessary to enjoy most pop sci dramas. If you’re not going to have fun watching a show, why bother to watch it?

Tonight, the new V series begins on ABC. There’s a review of the first episode at The New York Times. The reviewer, Mike Hale, doesn’t like it because (get this) it’s not believable! Mike Hale thinks the exposition comes too fast and the people greet the aliens too warmly. With applause, even.

Applause makes sense on Planet Television, where the producers of “V” — working with the premise that only an underground network of rebel humans suspects the visitors’ true intentions — need the aliens to win over the rest of humanity before the third commercial break.

Um, where else are we but Planet Television when we watch TV? The audience knows that exposition has to be fast, and a big chunk of the audience knows that this new series is based on an old series. If the Earthlings didn’t greet the visitors, it wouldn’t be the same story at all. Hale also calls the series “slapdash and formulaic in its storytelling.” If you’ve seen the original, you know this story really couldn’t be told any other way and still be the same series.

To sum up what I think of TV reviews in general, I will watch V tonight and make up my own mind. You can be pedantic and criticize each and every deviation from real life science, or you can be pedantic and criticize each and every variation from the original series. Or you can pop some popcorn and watch it expecting to enjoy the story, or the silliness as it may be. If you don’t like it, turn it off and don’t watch next week’s episode. Then again, if you really enjoy being pedantic, by all means go ahead and have a great time with V tonight.

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Now it’s Twitter in your pocket

twitterpeekA couple of weeks ago I wrote about a $99 device which gave you access to Wikipedia – and nothing else. I concluded that it would be nice to have one, but at $99, you could get much better value with even a cheap cellphone.

If I owned a WikiReader, right now I’d be looking at the entry for déjà vu. Replace the word Wikipedia with Twitter in that opening paragraph and you get the TwitterPeek, right down to the $99 price.

The wireless device does everything you could ask for when it comes to Twitter, including replies, retweets and direct messages. It can even display images from TwitPic (but can’t take and upload photos itself.)

The first time you use the TwitterPeek, you type in the details of your account and the device automatically copies across your settings including the people you follow. You can automatically update this list at any time, as well as manually adding followers by typing “f” and then the name of the account you want to follow. However, you can’t manually unfollow people on the device.

The data connection theoretically comes from manufacturer Peek’s own mobile network, though in reality the firm is simply leasing access from other networks. There is no per-use charge, but buyers must choose between paying $99 to get the device and six months usage, after which it costs $7.99 a month, or $199 to buy the device and get lifetime service. (That set-up is likely there to capitalize on people choosing the $99 option when buying it as a gift and the recipient hopefully getting hooked on the device.)

It’s very hard to see the audience here. Surely most people who desperately want constant access to Twitter away from their computer already have a smartphone. In that situation, it seems almost impossible that anyone could use Twitter so much that the costs of the TwitterPeek are cheaper than paying the relevant data costs on their smartphone, particularly as Twitter is inherently not a data-hungry service.

Even those who don’t currently have a phone which makes Twitter use viable could probably get much better value by taking the $99/$199 and putting it towards an upgrade to a smartphone.


Where in the world is GTA: V

GTA V

A page in a manual for the latest GTA game has prompted speculation about the setting of the next installment in the series: speculation we at Geeks Are Sexy are happy to engage in.

The page appears in the recently-released retail copy of GTA: Tales From Liberty City, which brings together two games previously available as downloadable content. It shows a torn apart heart containing the front cover of GTA IV, the words “Liberty City, It’s Over!”, a scrap of an image appearing to be a hilly terrain, and the phrase “Opens March Everywhere”.

Take those clues, mix them up with the online community’s speculation, and you’ve got claims that the next release will be GTA V, announced next March (it seems inconceivable it could actually be released then), and taking place in a location other than Liberty City. But where? Well, here’s our take on some possible candidates:

Vice City

For: It would follow a logical pattern, being the sequel to Liberty City-based games on both the PS2 and the PSP. It was also a favorite setting of many players.

Against: The Vice City locations were arguably more about the 80s era than the physical location itself and it’s not clear if future GTA games will have historic settings. Even if they do, it could be argued the Vice City theme is played out.

San Andreas

For: Seemingly the most likely choice. It’s already mapped out so would need less new design. It’s also the largest GTA space so far and would lend itself to the greater scope available in next-gen and online gaming. The location would also lose much less in a transfer to a modern era setting than Vice City.

Against: It could be seen as unoriginal to revisit a previous setting at this stage.

Chicago

For: The biggest real-life US city to use as an influence after New York and San Francisco/LA/Vegas.

Against: Would probably work better as a historical era setting, but the most obvious would be Prohibition era, which severely restricts the driving element of the game

Washington DC

For: Packed with landmarks to pastiche. Could also make for some intriguing storylines parodying the political world.

Against: Even by RockStar standards, portraying shooting sprees in the nation’s political heartland might raise taste issues. Could also be tricky to find the right balance between making the scenery recognizable without being so accurate it makes storylines difficult without causing offence.

London

For: The only real-world venue to have been used for a previous game. Arguably the most recognizable potential venue outside the US, with many landmarks and distinct neighborhoods. Has a wide variety of potential historical era settings.

Against: Left-hand drive would be needed for realism, but that would be a major learning curve for many players. The lack of coastline means that giving the game a natural geographic border or having a storyline reason to lock certain areas at the start could be tricky.

Tokyo

For: Could look absolutely stunning with today’s graphics. Might help sales in Japan.

Against: The language barrier could be an issue.

Australia

For: Driving over the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the Opera House in the background would be unforgettable.

Against: That’s pretty much it for landmarks. If you thought the Badlands missions in GTA: San Andreas were frustrating, wait until you discover there’s no trip skip to get to Ayer’s Rock/Uluru. Australian setting has already been reported and then exposed as an April Fool’s joke.

The whole world

For: Make the entire game on-line play, then hook up Google Earth and street view to a rendering machine. Drive anywhere, play anywhere, design your own missions anywhere and share them online.

Against: Aside from the near insurmountable legal and technical barriers, absolutely nothing.