Year: 2010

Film

Tron Legacy: fashion tie-ins

21 October 2010 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

Well, I never. Tron wasn’t exactly the most fashion-conscious of films:

Bruce Boxleitner in Tron

I mean, can you see yourself wearing that. If you can, may I advise against it?

Tron Guy

There. That’s better. Hopefully, I’ve just cured you of that particular faux pas.

Thankfully for current and future generations, Tron: Legacy is proving to be a bit more tasteful in its outfit choices. Here’s Olivia Wilde and a ‘Siren’ from the new movie:

The women of Tron

You could just about get away with either of those in certain clubs. And if you’re a bloke, you could probably do all right – with bikers at least – by wearing this:

Tron Legacy poster

All right. Maybe not. They’re still just a little too sci-fi, aren’t they?

But the merchandisers of Tron: Legacy know this and have come up with “similar but different” fashion goodies. Consider this $795 shoe, for example:

A Tron shoe

Or this handbag:

Tron Legacy purse

You could get away with them, don’t you think?

But, if you have the cash and truly are a geek, how about this: an actual lightcycle you can ride on roads?

Tron lightcycle

Now that’s cool.

[This and an iPod dock, keyboard, mouse, et al via]

Classic TV

Weird old title sequences: The Great Egg Race (1979-1986)

21 October 2010 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

The Great Egg Race with Heinz Wolff

You know, sometimes I think I have psychic powers. Only last Thursday, I was thinking to myself “Ooh. I know what I should do for next week’s Lost Gems: The Great Egg Race. Everyone loved that.” What should happen within about two hours? The BBC only went and stuck vast chunks of it up on the BBC Archive, that’s what, which makes things a whole lot easier, if less impressive now.

The Great Egg Race, for those too young, too American or not nerdy enough to be watching BBC science programmes during the early to mid-1980s, was a fabulous homage to British boffins and inventors, a predecessor for things like Robot Wars and Scrapheap Challenge, and firmly in the tradition of the outwards bounds courses et al that led to Now Get Out of That at the same time. In it, teams of inventive and engineering-minded British people would be set seemingly simple challenges and armed only with their ingenuity, a small workshop and a whole array of kitchen-equipment and random objects, they would have to construct a mind-blowing gizmo or series of gizmos that would solve the challenge better than the other teams – preferably in as Heath-Robinson a way as possible.

Originally presented by Play School/Play Away host Brian Cant, the show got its name from the main challenge of the first series, in which teams from around the country tried to build machines that could propel an egg as far as possible, powered only by elastic bands. This episode includes the show’s famous theme tune, as well as its first weird old title sequence. More after the jump…

Continue reading “Weird old title sequences: The Great Egg Race (1979-1986)”

Random Acts of Ali Larter: Joining the Stork Club

21 October 2010 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Proof if any be needed that Ali Larter can’t go two weeks without turning something into an act of charity, after converting her baby shower into a fund-raiser for mothers-to-be, now she’s gone and joined the Stork Club – she’s a celebrity volunteer for the March Of Dimes, a nonprofit organisation for pregnancy and baby health.

Two weeks max. That’s all I’m saying.

BTW, I have no pictures of this, of course, so have a video of Ali stopping a man from having babies instead.

Have you seen Ali Larter acting randomly? If so, let us know and we’ll tell everyone about it in “Random Acts of Ali Larter“

Watch the Babylon Fields pilot with Amber Tamblyn

21 October 2010 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Every year, pilots get made. Some of them get picked up. Some of them don’t. Babylon Fields, a zombie show starring Amber Tamblyn (Joan of Arcadia and soon House), didn’t. In it, the dead come back to life as zombies, but really they just want to get back to their old lives rather than eat lots of brains.

I remember watching it at the time and thinking that while it had its moments and charms, it wasn’t a surefire winner, but compared to a lot of the new shows this season, it’s a cracker. Now you too can watch it below – all 42 minutes of it. Enjoy!