SpockSoc

Hi everyone,

This week, we’re going to climb into a giant robot and run very fast, but hopefully not at the same time.

Friday

On Friday our DCTV extravaganza continues with season four of The Flash!

Last season, our fast-paced friends from Central City weathered alternate universes, a musical episode, two separate superpowered evil sides and rather more sentient gorillas than you might reasonably expect. Barry and Iris got engaged, Wally got powers, Barry and Iris broke up because plot, Caitlin got powers, Barry and Iris got engaged again and mercifully managed to make it stick. What a rollercoaster!

When last we left our heroes, they’d managed to defeat Big Bad Savitar, an evil speedster who stood out from all previous evil speedster villains by being a) even more obviously CGI’d and b) an evil future version of Barry with a dubious and vaguely emo hairdo. But the vanquishing of Bad Barry (and his Emo Bangs) came at a cost: the present version of Barry had to sacrifice himself to the Speed Force for reasons that escape me at the moment, a devastating and permanent blow to the team that will definitely not be reversed within two episodes.

(if that didn’t sufficiently sum up the season, a recap can be found here)

Will Team Flash manage to cope without their leader? How unbearably quirky will this season’s version of Harrison Wells be? Will Iris ever do any actual reporting? Tune in on Friday for the answers to all these questions and more!

We’ll be watching the first seven episodes of season four. The race begins on Friday in Civil Engineering G1 (our new room for the rest of the semester, located approximately at the position of the red X on the map below). We’ll be starting around 5pm with a break for dinner around 7-ish. Pizza prices are $5 for half a pizza, $10 for a whole pizza. Add the facebook event to your calendars here.

What else is on?

Our next movie outing is A Wrinkle In Time on Tuesday April 3rd (moved from Monday because all public holiday tickets are full price). Find out more here.

Our April book club meeting is less than a week away, which is still plenty of time to read this month’s selection: Crossroads of Canopy by Thoraiya Dyer. You can find a blurb and purchase links here.

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the MCU and the upcoming release of Avengers: Infinity War, we’re running a series of day-long MCU marathons in April. You can find the events for Phase One, Phase Two and Phase Three at the embedded links or on facebook.

Keep an eye on our events page for upcoming screenings, movie outings and more!

We look forward to seeing you this week,
Jenn

Hi everyone,

This week, we’re going to revisit the Tomb Raider franchise, prove our worth at interclub Trivia and *drumroll* actually watch some Star Trek, how crazy is that.

Friday

This Friday, we’re living up to our club name and checking back in with the crew of Star Trek Discovery! Set ten years before the events of the original 60s Star Trek series, over the first eight episodes Discovery has followed the adventures of disgraced Starfleet officer Michael Burnham as she searches for redemption in the middle of a war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

When last we left our heroes they were staring down the barrel of the Klingon Ship of the Dead, which they’d kinda sorta accidentally summoned via the power of the impending mid-season finale. Will Discovery’s mushroom-powered warp drive keep it out of trouble? Will we ever see those amazing DISCO shirts again? Will they actually manage to wrap up the Klingon War plotline in the remaining episodes? Join us on Friday as we boldly go in search of answers to all these questions and more!

(If less than half of those sentences made any sense to you, a recap might be in order – but ware spoilers for the rest of the season!)

We’ll be watching the final seven episodes of season one, starting from episode nine. Our location is unfortunately TBA because the gears of university bureaucracy sometimes grind very slowly, so look out for an email confirming it later in the week. We’ll be starting around 5pm, with a dinner break around 7ish, and we will be offering FREE PIZZA for dinner again this week!

What else is on?

After nearly a month away (do you think they’ll still recognise us?) we return to the Ritz for Tomb Raider. We’ll be meeting around 6:15 for the 6:50pm session and having dinner afterwards. Our student members are eligible for $6 tickets – make sure to show your student card at the box office! You can find more informationhere.

Our next movie outing will be Pacific Rim Uprising on the 26th of March – find more information here.

Join us on Thursday for the first inter-club event of the year – GEEK Trivia! Come along and pit your wits against the best that Spocksoc, Docsoc, Vadersoc and the rest of the GEEK collective have to offer. Location is yet to be confirmed, so add the event to your calendar so you don’t miss an update!

Our April book club selection is Crossroads of Canopy by Thoraiya Dyer – check out the facebook event for more details, including locations you can buy the book and a sneak peek at our May nominations challenge (Old Favourites!)

As always, keep an eye on our facebook events page for details of upcoming screenings, outings and other events (MCU Marathon info is coming soon!)

We look forward to seeing you this week,

Jenn

Hi everyone,

At last, O-Week is upon us! The birds are singing, the sun is…actually hiding behind clouds at the moment but perhaps that will improve – and our O-Week stall is up and running! We’re in stall number QD22 (unsurprisingly, located in the quadrangle), feel free to swing by and say hello! We’ll be more than happy to answer questions about our upcoming screenings, the book club or just the general terrible whims of the Shadow Council for this year.

This week, we’ve got a royal welcome back planned with a much-anticipated Tuesday movie outing and a preview of our semester one schedule!

Friday:

For our first official screening of the year, we’re going to do something we haven’t done in a while – a preview night!

In a break from our usual format, we’ll be starting off at 5 with a bit of a meet and greet session – come along and get to know Spocksoc members new and old!

Then from 6pm, we’ll be showing the pilot episodes for four of the new shows we’re most excited about this year, before finishing up with a new (to us) episode of Star Trek Discovery!

We’ll be watching the following episodes (in roughly this order):
– The Orville, “Old Wounds” (Season 1 Episode 1)
– The Gifted, “eXposed” (Season 1 Episode 1)
– Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, “The Hood Maker” (Season 1 Episode 1)
– Altered Carbon, “Out of the Past” (Season 1 Episode 1)
– Star Trek Discovery, “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum” (Season 1 Episode 8)

If you’ve been a member for a while but haven’t managed to make it to an event, this is a great opportunity to get a feel for the kind of things we do (ie, watch ungodly amounts of television) and the kind of people we are (ie, friendly!)

We’re located in Rupert Myers for at least the first three weeks of this semester – located inside the carefully drawn circle in the image below – and as usual will be starting around 5pm, with a break for dinner around 7ish. Dinner is on us this week – come for the free pizza, stay for the people!

You can find the facebook event here.

 

What else is on?

 

On Tuesday, journey with us to the secluded nation of Wakanda (transport kindly provided by the Randwick Ritz), for the latest, greatest and most-anticipated entry in the MCU: Black Panther! We’ll be meeting at 6 for the 6:30pm session – find out more here.

 

Keep an eye on our facebook events page for info on upcoming screenings and events – our full semester 1 screening schedule is now available, along with outings for Tomb Raider,Pacific Rim: Uprising and A Wrinkle in Time!

 

Our next book club meeting is in two weeks – check out the facebook event for more info on our assigned book, The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss, along with a guide to where you can buy it. 

 

We look forward to seeing you this week,

Jenn

Hi everyone,

With only one week left until the semester begins, we’re making a heroic effort to avoid thinking about classes (and O-Week prep…) with this week’s screening!

Friday

For our final summer screening, we’re returning to the animated DC-verse for a second serving of Young Justice! When last we left our teenaged super-team, they’d survived encounters with everyone from the Joker to Sportsmaster, and are well on their way to an encounter with Big Bad organisation The Light.

Will the teens put aside their personal issues in time to defeat evil? What exactly is Artemis’ secret? Exactly how long is Superman going to avoid interacting with Connor? And will Robin ever managed to make “whelmed” happen?

The answers to all these questions and more might be answered in Friday’s screening, where we will be finishing off season one of Young Justice, starting from episode fifteen. As always (and for the last time before we transfer to Rupert Myers for our semester one screenings), we’ll be starting around 5ish in the Macauley Theatre, aka Quad 1027. Add the facebook event to your calendar here!

What else is on?

Black Panther is almost upon us! Our official outing will fall during O-Week next Tuesday ($8 student tickets! Tell your friends!), but if you cannot contain your excitement, the Ritz is running a special preview screening on Wednesday! More info on that can be found here, and the facebook event for our Tuesday outing is here.

After our Black Panther screening, we’ll be switching our regular movie night to Mondays to take advantage of the Ritz’ $6 Student Mondays promotion. Adjust your calendars accordingly!

The votes are in: our March selection for Book Club is The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss! Check out the facebook event for info about the book and a list of places you can buy it!

As always, keep an eye on our events page on facebook for the most up-to-date information about upcoming screenings and other events!

Hi everyone,

This week, we’re vaguely commemorating the public holiday (while avoiding thinking about what said holiday actually celebrates) and going to the movies!

Friday

This Friday, we’re tipping our hat to Australia/Invasion Day with another screening of what was, until the advent of Cleverman, our country’s most recent contribution to SFF TV: Farscape.

We’re continuing on with season four this week, starting from episode 7. Join us from 5pm in the Macauley Theatre (aka Quad 1027). Facebook event is here.

What else is on?

Tomorrow we’ll be descending on the Ritz to see Guillermo del Toro’s latest (and award-winning!) masterpiece, Grinding Nemo The Shape of Water. Facebook event is here.

Keep an eye on our facebook events page for the latest scoop on upcoming events, including screenings, movie outings and book club events.

Speaking of book club, we’re reading Barbary Station by R.E. Stearns this month! Check out the facebook event for more information, including a list of links to places you can buy the book.

We look forward to seeing you this week,

Jenn

Hi everyone,

With the semester now behind us (let’s not think about exams right now), we have one more week of regular programming before our summer schedule starts – and we’re ending our regular 2017 screenings with a bang!

Wednesday

On Wednesday, we continue our journey through the mind of David Haller in the X-Men spin-off Legion!

We’ll be finishing off season one with the final four episodes, starting from episode five. As always, we’ll be in Civil Engineering Room 109 for one last Wednesday screening! Facebook event is here.

Friday

It’s been over ten years, but Star Trek is finally back on our TV screens! (or whatever screen you use to watch your preferred streaming service) It’s been an agonising wait, but Spocksoc are ready to once more boldly go where no UNSW club has gone before and run our very first screening of Star Trek: Discovery!

If you’ve been living in the Gamma Quadrant and have somehow not obsessively pored over every single detail of the show, here’s a summary from IMDB:

“Ten years before Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise, the USS Discovery discovers new worlds and lifeforms as one Starfleet officer learns to understand all things alien.”

It’s new, it’s shiny and it’s already been renewed for a second season! Are you excited? I’m so excited. There are not enough italics in the world to convey how excited I am.

We’ll be watching the first seven episodes of Discovery‘s first season, starting as always around 5pm-ish in Civil Engineering G1. Whether you’ve already watched every available episode ten times or are yet to live long, prosper and let Trek into your life, what better way to watch (or rewatch) the newest installment than with UNSW’s biggest Star Trek fans? Add the facebook event to your calendar here.

Hi everyone,

This week, our DC TV binge continues with a double dose of superhero action!

Wednesday

On Wednesday we’re once again hurtling through time with the Legends of Tomorrow, this year’s surprising top contender for Most Improved DC Show.

Picking up where we left off after last semester’s massive crossover, our favourite ragtag gang of misfit heroes legends are facing off against the Legion of Doom, aka three of the hammiest most persistent leftover popular villains from across the Arrowverse: Damien Darhk, Malcolm Merlyn and the Reverse-Flash. Meanwhile, Martin Stein has managed to accidentally retcon himself a daughter, which will definitely not have consequences, and the revised team roster actually seems to be working out fairly well. Who knew?

Will they manage to defeat the Legion without irreparably screwing with time? (probably not) Will the writers ever stop low-key cribbing fromDoctor Who? (probably not, and honestly who can blame them) Will the team continue to thrive under Sara Lance’s leadership? (actually, the odds are pretty good on this one…)

Join us on Wednesday as we watch the next five episodes of season two, starting with episode eight. The fun starts at 5pm in CivEng Room 109, aiming to finish around 9pm. The facebook event is here.

Friday

The DC fun continues on Friday with this year’s final screening of The Flash!

In our concluding session of season three, we’ll finally discover the secrets of Savitar, find out if Barry and Iris will ever work out their relationship difficulties (granted, “I’m going to die in less than two months” is a pretty big difficulty), and more importantly, indulge ourselves with a crossover musical episode extravaganza/stealth Glee reunion! Featuring the uber-talented Darren Criss as the Music Meister and guest starring some of our favourite Supergirl characters (and Mon-El), it’s a friendly reminder that a hilariously large percentage of the supporting cast have serious Broadway chops even if they’re going to be hideously underused *insert musical theatre fan grumbling*.

We’ll be watching the final seven episodes of season three, starting with episode sixteen (which is the musical one, if anyone’s specifically looking to watch/avoid it). As always, we’re kicking off around 5pm in CivEng G1, with a dinner break around 7ish if we feel like it. Facebook event is here.

 

What else is on?

We’re having a bit of an unofficial non-sci-fi movie outing to see The Hitman’s Bodyguard tonight, but make sure to keep an eye on our event pagefor other upcoming screenings, book club meetings, outings and more!

Our next book club meeting approaches! Join us next week when we discuss the graphic novel Nimona by Noelle Stevenson, along with anything else we’ve been reading! Details are here.

You guys, the AGM and Trivia Night is officially one month away! I am so excited! I hope you’re excited too! This paragraph has way too many exclamation marks and is starting to look a little crazy!

Seriously though, this is both our most important and our most fun event of the year. The Annual General Meeting is not only a requirement that allows us to keep running as an Arc-sanctioned club, it’s also a chance for YOU, our members, to face the Shadow Council and have your say about how the club is run. We’ll be electing a new exec, so if you’re both a current UNSW student and keen to get involved in the nitty-gritty details of keeping the club running, you should definitely come along and nominate yourself.

Then, once we’ve gotten all that out of the way, it’s nerd against nerd in a battle for SpockSoc Trivia Supremacy! (Basically a super-fun quiz about shows and movies we’ve seen this year, accompanied by a lot of excitable shouting about how the judges are being too pedantic/not pedantic enough. We have fun).

The AGM and Trivia Night will take place on Friday 5th of October starting from 5pm in Goldstein Room G09. We’d love it if all of your could make it – even if you haven’t been able to come to our events this year. Keep an eye on the event above for move information as things develop!

We look forward to seeing you this week,

Jenn

Hi everyone,

This week, we’re going to hang out with Clone Club and save New York from Sigourney Weaver!

Wednesday

On Wednesday, join us for the beginning of the end of Clone Club with the fifth and final season of Orphan Black!

Last time we checked in, things weren’t looking great for Team Leda. With Rachel once again ascendant as the face of the new, improved Neolution and Sarah languishing in the snow with a knife in her leg, will our favourite clones survive the coming storm?

Come along to our Wednesday screening and find out! We’ll be watching the first five episodes of season five, starting from 5pm in Civil Engineering Room 109. You can find a recap here and our facebook event is here.

Friday

On Friday, the heroes of the Marvel Netflix-verse make like the Avengers and get all teamed up in the much anticipated premiere of The Defenders!