James | SpockSoc

Week 13: Eureka

Hey all! Last week of session, hey? SpockSoc won’t be having any events during the exam period or holidays (because people have exams. And go on holidays) but we’ve got another jam-packed session planned for you next session. As soon as we get some jam and start packing.

But first! This Friday we’re showing Eureka, the last four episodes of season three. Come along even if you haven’t seen anything of Eureka – I’ll give brief character descriptions so people know who’s who. We’re finishing off the season so we can start fresh with season four next session. It’s a great series starring Colin Ferguson as Jack Carter, the average normal-joe guy who happens to be the sheriff in Eureka, a town full of geniuses. And when things go wrong around geniuses, they go wrong real bad. =) 5pm in Rex Vowels. Pizza run at 7-ish.

Week 12: Warehouse 13 & Better Off Ted

Only two weeks of session left, aww. Anyway, based on suggestions and lack of enthusiasm in what we planned to show and what series we have left, I’ve decided on the screenings for this week and next week. This week, we’re showing the last four episodes of Warehouse 13 season one, and the last four episodes of Better Off Ted. Better Off Ted got cancelled last week, so these are the last four episodes ever (aww) but we’ll show the next season of Warehouse 13 next session. The screening starts at 5pm Friday in Rex Vowels as usual – pizza run at 7-ish.

Next week is the last week of session. We’ll be showing the last four episodes of Eureka season three, though I might show the fifth-last one for a bit of recap. Either way, we’re going to finish early that night, because the very next day, Saturday the 5th of June, we’ll be partnering up with the UNSW Anime society to marathon the whole of a Sci-Fi anime series. More details next week, but keep your diaries free, and come along to kick back and relax before Stuvac.

Week 11: Mystery Screening Uni

Getting on towards the last few weeks of session – boy do they go by so fast. This week’s screening is Mystery Screening Univ, starting from episode seven (because we reached episode six at our first screening in week one). I’m hoping as many people will still be able to come this week as there were in week one. =) In any case, it’s 5pm Friday in Rex Vowels, pizza run at 7-ish like usual.

Week 10: Primeval & Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire

This week at SpockSoc we’re showing two things. Firstly, we’re showing the last three episodes of the third season of Primeval, because that was how far we’d gotten at our last screening of it last year. Unfortunately the future of Primeval is a little uncertain, so I thought I might as well just get the remaining episodes out of the way. In Primeval, a team of scientists must protect modern-day London from strange portals in time which bring forth creatures from the distant past – and the far future. It’s made by the same guys who did Walking with Dinosaurs.

The second is a comedy fantasy series called Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire. It’s a short show – six half-hour episodes, and American… which means very American humour, which may admittedly be not to everyone’s taste. It still looks pretty good at first glance, so come along and try it out.

As usual for double-show screenings, we’ll decide on the night which we’ll show first. 5pm in Rex Vowels – pizza run at 7ish.

Week 9: Paradox

This week at SpockSoc: Paradox. Detective Inspector Rebecca Flint must prevent a major accident from occurring. Her only clues are photos that somehow arrive from eighteen hours in the future, after the accident has already happened. It’s another British series – five hour-long episodes, so we’ll be able to see the whole thing in the one screening. Starting at 5pm in Rex Vowels – pizza run at 7-ish like usual.

In other news, due to availability and things airing on TV, we’ve made some changes to our screenings in weeks 10, 11 and 13. Week 10 is now Primeval and Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire. Week 11 is Mystery Screening Univrse, the second third of the first season. Week 13 is yet to be decided. I’ll give more details in the e-mails of the week, but keep your diaries free if those series interest you.

Last but not least: if I were to have a marathon screening on the Saturday following week thirteen, who’d be interested in coming? Would it make for a good break before stuvac starts, or will people be too worried about exams already? Fill in Poll to the right to let me know your opinion. I want to hear it, honest. =)

Movie: Iron Man 2

SpockSoc will be going to see Iron Man 2 this week at the Randwick Ritz – the movie starts at 7pm on Wednesday. Ordinarily for a popular movie I’d arrange tickets ahead of time, but Iron Man’s opening caught me by surprise. We’ll meet up inside the lobby in front of the doors to cinema one, starting from 6:30pm – I won’t wait after the movie starts, so be there on time. =)

As part of the fancy SpockSoc membership perks, I’ll reimburse $2 to anyone who presents their membership card – for those who might not recognise me, I’ll have the orange vinyl SpockSoc banner on me. If people are interested, we’ll go out to dinner as a group afterwards. I can’t manage before, because I’ve got class until 6.

Mid-Session: Legend of the Seeker

Hope you enjoyed your Easter long weekend and will enjoy (or are enjoying?) your mid-session break. As I said last week, and will expand upon now, SpockSoc has not one but two screenings this week.

This Friday, we’ll be showing the last eight episodes of the first season of Legend of the Seeker, a series based on the Sword of Truth books by Terry Goodkind. It’s a special extended screening, since we have eight episodes to get through – we’ll be starting at 4pm in Rex Vowels. That’s four o’clock Friday, Rex Vowels theatre. Even with the extra hour, it’s gonna be a bit squishy fitting things in, so we’ll be starting not long after 4 – apologies for those who can’t make it then, but you’ll only miss one episode if you come at 5. Pizza run at 7-ish like normal. I will attempt a recap of the first two-thirds of the season, if new members want to come along.

Week 4: Alice & Day of the Triffids

This Friday at SpockSoc we’re showing two miniseries – the specific order we’ll show them in will be decided on the night, either by popular demand or coin toss, whichever works better. =D Firstly, the latest British remake of Day of the Triffids, based on the book of the same name by John Wyndham. It was made by the BBC last year, written by ER and Law & Order writer Patrick Harbinson, and stars Dougray Scott, Joely Richardson and Eddie Izzard.

Secondly, Alice – the 2009 re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland made by the US SciFi Channel (and I ain’t calling them SyFy, cause that’s a silly name). It’s similar in genre to Tin Man, which we showed last year – Alice is to Alice in Wonderland as Tin Man is to Wizard of Oz. It has quite an all-star cast – lead by Caterina Scorsone as Alice, it also features Harry Dean Stanton, Tim Curry, Matt Frewer, Colm Meaney, Andrew-Lee Potts, Alessandro Juliani and Teryl Rothery.

SpockSoc is also changing rooms – for the rest of the weekly screenings this session we’ll be in the Rex Vowels theatre. It’s plenty big enough to hold the whole club, and it’s got tiered seating, so no more looking at the back of other peoples’ heads. There’ll be a map up on the website at some point before Friday, but Rex Vowels is on the back of the Electrical Engineering building (grid reference G17).

If you’re unsure where that is, the easiest way to find it would be to start from Quad G032 (our previous room) – head out the glass doors and turn right, then turn left immediately after passing the yellow plastic bags of building materials (which have been there for ages and will hopefully still be there on Friday) to pass between the Quad and ElecEng buildings. Rex Vowels lobby is straight ahead – I’ll have the banner up, so just walk forward until you see it. Just to be sure, I’ll stick a sign on the door to G032, and maybe some arrows on the ground to point the way.

We’re still starting at 5pm Friday as usual, with a pizza run at 7-ish. Feel free to bring friend. Yearly membership is $5, or a one-screening membership is $2.

Marathon: Babylon 5

This Saturday the 20th, we’ll be having a Babylon 5 marathon! We’ll be starting sometime not too long after 9am and going until late, so feel free to drop in whenever even if you can’t make the whole thing. We’ll be in Goldstein G04 ~~either Quad G026 or G027 – to get there, stand outside the glass door do G032 and head towards the main runway – G026 is on the left once you get out from under the covered-over area.~~ The banner will be outside as usual, so it should be easy to spot.

The room we’ll be in has movable furniture – means we can shove all the tables to one side if you want to bring a beanbag or pillow or air mattress or folding bed or comfy chair or even a couch. So bring something to sit/lie on (or use the plastic chairs that are there if you like), bring some snacks if you so desire, and prepare for a whole day of Babylon 5! Fun!

The marathon passes over both lunchtime and dinnertime. Usually I’ll get pizza (at $5 per half) for one meal, and let everyone do their own thing for the other, but specifics will be arranged on the day. There’s access to a microwave if people want to bring their own food, but it’s not exactly close by.

UPDATE:

Due to availability issues, the location for the Saturday marathon is changing. (Pharmacology seems to have booked out the whole Quad for the whole weekend – poor sods.) We’re now in Goldstein G04. Prior members will know where that is, but for new members, the Goldstein building is directly opposite the Quad from our normal Friday room. Simply follow the brick path across the lawn and through the archway in the wall on the far side – Goldstein is the building on the right immediately after you pass the archway. I’ll hang a banner outside. (If you navigate better with a map, check out the campus map – Goldstein is building D16, and the door’s on the Western side. If you try to enter through the wrong door, you’ll wind up in the college part of the building, which is not where we are.) Everything else about the marathon is still the same.

Week 3: Warehouse 13

This week’s screening is Warehouse 13. Secret Service agents Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering are appointed to a secret storage facility housing unusual artifacts in South Dakota after saving the life of the President. It’s a good series that’s been well-recieved in America – we showed the first episode last year, but since all the new members won’t have been there, we’ll probably show it again. Screening starts at 5pm, still in Quad G032 – I’m hoping to move to a better room next week. Pizza run at 7pm ($5 per half pizza).