Flavours of the Month: October 2012...

LOOKS:

The Walking Dead: Cold Storage - the month got off to an undead start with a rather good webisode series directed by KNB effects master Greg Nicotero. Surprisingly dark in places, it provided a nice little side-bar teaser to the forthcoming main event later in the month.

Fangoria's Blood & Guts with Scott Ian - the Nerdist channel on YouTube has introduced a great new show that targets horror nerds in its sights. The Anthrax guitarist visits various effects houses (starting, naturally, with KNB Effects) and explores the world of special make-up effects - often involving gallons of glorious fake blood.

Cinemassacre's Monster Madness 2012 "80s-a-thon" - every year James Rolfe gets into the Halloween spirit and reviews various horror flicks throughout the month of October. This month was dedicated to the frightful sights of the 1980s.

Click "READ MORE" for more looks, sounds, vibes & flavours of October 2012...



Red Dwarf X - the long-anticipated return of Lister, Rimmer, Kryten, and Cat aboard the JMC Mining Ship Red Dwarf thanks to the Dave TV channel. Returning to its half-hour-long format shot in front of a live studio audience, it was never going to reach the classic heights of the dearly loved first six series, but even still it's been thoroughly enjoyable with consistent laughs and some great central ideas to play around with (Lister, being his own father, celebrates Father's Day in the second episode for example). Here's very much hoping there's another series next year!

Bond, James Bond - you know how it is, there's always going to be films that you haven't got around to yet, and in this case it was every James Bond film before Goldeneye (which was the first Bond movie I ever saw, in the cinema back in 1995). Everything after, and including, Goldeneye had been covered, but everything before was a gap in my cinematic appreciation. Fortunately, Sky Movies dedicated an entire channel purely to James Bond - so the month has seen me gradually chipping my way through the 17 Bond flicks I had not yet seen.

Prometheus (Collector's Edition Blu-Ray) - loved it in the cinema, and I love it on Blu-Ray. I do object to the special features being loaded onto the most expensive incarnation of the home release in order to boost the sales figures for 3D (I don't have, nor want, a 3D TV or player). Suffice to say, the 220 minute making of documentary is exhaustive, and the deleted/alternate scenes provide some interesting shading (although the alternate beginning and ending aren't as alternative as the advertisements boasted, I have to say). It's a proud inclusion on my shelves.

The Walking Dead Season 3 - nevermind everything else, October means a new season of AMC's zombie TV drama series is back on the air. You'll have noticed I've been posting feverishly in relation to it, and that's not about to stop anytime soon. Without a doubt, it's the best show on TV right now, and Glen Mazzara & Co have exploded back onto the scene in a grand style, taking us by the throat from the get-go. Excellent!


SOUNDS:

2011 Mix CDs - every couple of months I put together a new mix CD for listening to in the car, made up of songs that were new or popular with me at the time. I keep them all and cycle them through every now and then as it provides an excellent range of music to write to.

Alice Cooper "Along Came A Spider"

Misfits

HIM "Dark Light"

Alice Cooper "Dirty Diamonds"

Green Day "Uno!"


VIBES & FLAVOURS:

Eyes In Your Window - you might have noticed I've been doing a series of posts on this, my new screenplay that I'm working on (it's all a part of me putting together a portfolio, if you will, of screenwriting with which to approach representation). It's been a productive month creatively speaking. Use the list of posts over on the right to read all about it.

The Walking Dead Episode 4 - the penultimate episode in Telltale Games' excellent videogame tie-in to Robert Kirkman's undead universe. By this point it's become rather bleak (so, classically Kirkman, then) - but that means it's become ever-so gripping. The characters are well drawn and you genuinely feel connected to them. I'm looking forward to the fifth and final episode in the next several weeks.

Saints Row The Third - I had a few more hours of this superbly bonkers sandboxer before trading it in. There's a few flaws in the mix (but only a few, and none of them large), but it was a shedload of fun to play. Hopefully we're getting a Saints Row 4 sometime soon, with a handful of improvements and even barmier fun to be had.

"The Top Gear Story" by Martin Roach

The SFX Book of The Walking Dead