the walking dead – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com The best place on earth for nerds. Thu, 24 Sep 2020 14:55:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://nerdsonearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cropped-nerds_head_thumb2-100x100.png the walking dead – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com 32 32 All the podcasts from NerdsonEarth.com, under one umbrella. We create short run podcasts for nerds, covering D&D, Marvel, Starfinder, and more! You vote for your favorite shows and they just might get a second season. the walking dead – Nerds on Earth false episodic the walking dead – Nerds on Earth jason.sansbury@nerdsonearth.com podcast All the podcasts from NerdsonEarth.com, the best place on Earth for nerds. the walking dead – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/noe-podcast-logo.png https://nerdsonearth.com/blog/ The Punchlist: This Week’s News for Nerds https://nerdsonearth.com/2020/09/the-punchlist-this-weeks-news-for-nerds-21/ Wed, 16 Sep 2020 12:00:00 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=32815

Welcome to THE PUNCHLIST where Nerds on Earth rounds up this week's nerd news. The Mandalorian, Dune, Doctor Who, New York Comic Con, and more!

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Welcome to this week’s PUNCHLIST, where we round up the biggest news in nerd culture. It might be from the MCU, board gaming, D&D, and more. But whatever the news is this week, you can bet it will eventually separate you from your money.

7. Doctor Who: The Daleks are Getting Their Own Animated Series

Releasing in November, Daleks! will be a short-lived series comprised of five 10-minute episodes. The series is part of the massive Time Lord Victorious story that is being told across several mediums including comics, novels, and even escape room experiences.

+ More here: Daleks! Animated Series

6. The Walking Dead Conclusion and Spinoff News

AMC announced that The Walking Dead will officially end at the conclusion of its 11th season, which will release over the next two years. In its wake will follow a Daryl and Carol series, as well as an anthology type series entitled Tales of the Walking Dead.

+ More here: The Walking Dead Concludes; Spinoffs on the Way

5. Paizo Announces Lost Omens: Mwangi Expanse

The Lost Omens line is a series of lore-heavy supplements to Paizo’s Pathfinder RPG. The Mwangi Expanse is a wild jungle region of the setting, and is receiving a 300+ page book that will detail its history, geography, inhabitants, religion, and more. It will also feature new rules and character options for players.

+ More here: Lost Omens: Mwangi Expanse

4. Xbox Series S and X Launch Date and Prices Announced

Microsoft’s next generation of Xboxes are officially launching on November 10th (with preorders beginning on September 22nd). Both consoles can be purchased via a 24 month payment installment plan that includes an EA Play membership and the Xbox Game Pass that grants access to hundreds of titles. The all-digital Series S retails for $299, while the Series X will be $499.

+ More here: Xbox Series S and X Consoles

3. New York Comic Con Reveals First Wave of Virtual Panels

This year’s New York Comic Con is taking place exclusively as a non-stop stream of virtual panels on Youtube, and the convention has released a sizable slate of that programming! The event runs October 8-11. Catch the panel previews below, which span all kinds of nerdy franchises and interests!

+ More here: New York Comic Con Panels

2. The Long-Awaited Dune Trailer Dropped

Rumors spread early last week that we’d soon see the trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune remake. Wednesday, September 9th, we got just that. Feast your eyes:

1. The Mandalorian Season 2 Trailer

Last week we got the official release date of Season 2 of The Mandalorian, and just yesterday the trailer for the best thing going in the Star Wars universe (and possibly even ours) dropped!


Check back next Wednesday for more news for nerds.

Join Abram and Clave each Wednesday at 430CST on Facebook Live for a discussion of The Punchlist.

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It’s Time to Give The Walking Dead Another Look https://nerdsonearth.com/2018/12/its-time-to-give-the-walking-dead-another-look/ Thu, 06 Dec 2018 13:00:49 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=21200

Viewership of The Walking Dead is at half its peak. But the latest season is really good. Here are a few reasons why you should give The Walking Dead another look!

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We used to cover The Walking Dead extensively here at Nerds on Earth, right down to the weekly recaps and reviews we would do of the episodes. But like half of the viewership of TWD, we walked away from the show.

I mean, we looooved that show and a big portion of our Slack conversation would revolve around what Rick and company were up to on Sunday nights on AMC. So, why did we ditch it? Well, many reasons, including the fact that it got a bit too big for its britches with all that after show nonsense. It honestly felt as though the show was being written precisely to be able to apply easy marketing opportunities.

But the big reason was the gleeful gore that the show began to wallow in. Sure, it’s always been a violent show. But there came a point where a grisly death was teased and promoted simply as marketing gimmicks, rather than sincere and authentic opportunities to do what The Walking Dead used to do best, which is to wrestle with morality in the midst of a crumbling human society.

But, guess what? It is worth coming back to The Walking Dead. I just finished watching the mid-season finale of season 9 and it was fantastic, as were nearly all the first season 9 episodes.

Sure, there was a grisly death early on, but there wasn’t that nonsense of teasing it out as a publicity stunt, nor was it portrayed as gracious for the sake of ratings. No, it was meant to evoke a feeling of regret and allowed major characters to wrestle with the implications, then it had real consequences on the arcs of several characters.

The pacing is back to being fast. Gone are those extended episodes meant only to add additional commercial breaks. Storylines start, then they were resolved, nearly that fast. Watching season 9 keeps you on the edge of your seat in a good way.

Old characters are gone, including the tent poles. There has been a time jump! Side characters are given a chance to shine and new, engaging characters are being introduced. It feels fresh and familiar simultaneously and the ending of arcs is being done in interesting ways.

The zombies are scary again. Comic book readers know of the Whisperers. Television viewers are getting a glimpse now. But the new show runner–Angela Kang–hasn’t made the same mistakes as her predecessors. Negan at one time was a comic fan-favorite, only to be wasted with that lean-back schlock nonsense we were shown. But the introduction of the new storylines seem much more measured and considered.

Truly, season 9 of The Walking Dead has been well done. Yet, the ratings from The Walking Dead’s “Evolution” scored the lowest ratings for a midseason finale since the show’s debut. Season 9 has been an effort to shake things up, for certain. As a fan of the show since the very beginning (and even before with the comics), I’ll be the first to admit that the last couple seasons have been a mess.

But my faith has been restored in The Walking Dead. Sure, many are reflexively still dumping on the show and the narrative of cynicism that the last couple of seasons established will carry through, meaning lots of folks will simply now roll their eyes sight unseen. But, to be clear, The Walking Dead is still the biggest rated cable television program when you take away football (Who saw that West Virginia / Oklahoma game?). So reports of the show’s death are greatly exaggerated and it is indeed poised to rise again. So why not join that zombie horde again?

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The Walking Dead Episode 615 Recap and Review: East https://nerdsonearth.com/2016/03/walking-dead-episode-615-recap-east/ Mon, 28 Mar 2016 19:17:25 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=6250

Walking Dead Episode 615 does a great job of setting up next week's finale. Here's the recap and review.

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So, obviously spoilers for this week’s The Walking Dead. Let’s just jump in.

[tw-divider]The Walking Dead Episode 615 Recap: East[/tw-divider]

Some major things happen, most notably, Daryl gets shot at the end of the episode. (I am on record having warned the entire cable industry- if Daryl Dixon dies, I am canceling cable. Not just the AMC channel. All of cable. I will record the call and become a YouTube sensation as I bear open my pain with the AT&T operator.) That said, Glenn’s dumpster vacation has taught us this important rule: there are untouchable characters in the Walking Dead. (And, to me, that himage-11as damaged the show dramatically.)

We knew from the end of last episode that Carol was running away. (Note: if you haven’t checked out Earth Nerd Adkins’ breakdown of what we think has been happening to Carol, you really should. It is a stellar piece of writing on the Walking Dead in a way that I haven’t seen before.)  And before Tobin can get word of her departure out to everyone, Daryl takes off as well, heading to track down and kill the people who killed Denise.

And, then it all falls apart. While they leave Maggie to rest up and eat pickles (Y’all FYI- she is pregnant. Silly writer cliches) and get a haircut fro Enid, a large swath of people go after them. Rick and Morgan go out to find Carol and Rosita, Glenn and Michonne go out to get Daryl.

the-walking-dead-episode-615-morgan-james-rick-lincoln-post-800x600Turns out, Carol, using a large jacket hiding a submachine gun, is just fine. I mean, she still likely has PTSD, but she manages to kill most of the truckload of Negan’s folks who shot out her tire and didn’t leave her alone when she asked nicely. Twice. After that showdown, it isn’t clear what happened to her and later Morgan and Rick follow a blood trail through a horse barn, a zombie cluster and, eventually, Morgan sends Rick back, explaining that he understands what Carol is going through and will find her.

Meanwhile, Daryl gets tracked down, Glenn gives a speech, which I surprised doesn’t end with an arrow in his eye and, eventually, they all get captured. And Dwight, the face wounded guy from way earlier this season and Denise’s killed, shoots Daryl in such a way that we aren’t really sure where he was wounded.

[tw-divider]The Walking Dead Episode 615 Review: East[/tw-divider]

As a piece of television, this is 7 out of 10 nerds. And it is setting up and building towards something even greater with the 90 minute finale. It was definitely slow in places but overall, it revved the engines a little headed towards the conclusion next week.

That said, unless there is a revelation that the water of Alexandria is full of something that makes people dumb, I don’t understand what is going on.image-12

Rick and crew acknowledge that there is likely a fight coming soon from the Saviors. They are loading weapons, hiding them in preparation. And yet, as soon as someone runs off, they divide up the tactical strength of their team and go in different directions. I understand the desire to make sure Daryl was not being dumb. But Carol told you she was leaving and didn’t want to be found. (Also, how bad do you feel if you are Tobin? Carol was fine, but then she slept with him a few times and decided that she needed to leave town. Forever.) So now, Alexandria really has only one big gun: Abraham. A couple JV but capable people: Sasha, Carl. And Maggie seems to be maybe be losing the baby, so, she definitely won’t be 100%. Three episodes ago, they were convinced that the old guard of Alexandria needed to be protected and that they weren’t ready for defending the place. Now, they just up and abandoned it!

All in all, this season has been frustrating from the standpoint of motivation. Some folks watch the show and are content to follow along and admire this week’s cool special effect. I understand and appreciate that. But I watch because I want to understand these characters and this season has been trying in that way.

  • Rick has lost his mind. I felt like it was a 50-50 chance he would gut Morgan on the spot when Morgan revealed the Wolf being captive in Alexandria.
  • No logical direction of story arc. Abraham has a nervous breakdown, comes back and decides to switch up which woman he is sleeping with and seems to be fine now.
  • Daryl used to be a leader and now he is whiny and doing foolish things for no reason.
  • Carol, well, I’ve written about Carol.
  • And, while it didn’t bother me at all, the Rick and Michonne hook-up was like that apple in this week’s post-coitial scene: it just came from nowhere.

I am looking forward to this week. Negan’s reveal should be big time. Potentially, some of what was done with the Glenn/Dumpster debacle might get undone when a character we really care about dies. Potentially even more than one character.

And, I’ve warned you. I found the 24 hour number AT&T. If Daryl doesn’t make it, I’m calling you at 10:30 Eastern Sunday night.

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