The Geek Generation Network

AcornBandit [Twitter]

The Ember Island Players

https://stream.redcircle.com/episodes/4998caae-744c-4e6b-ad77-ef38f9e4722f/stream.mp3

Book Three Cover Art by Mirggles!

Host: Rob Logan [Twitter] [Twitch]

https://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1136928784-the-geek-generation-geek-news-brief-2021-10-06.mp3

Sora from Kingdom Hearts is the final Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter

Nintendo has finalized the roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate by revealing the final DLC fighter, Sora from Kingdom Hearts.

Sora is nimble and a skilled airborne fighter, but he’s very light, so it’s easy to launch him. His special abilities include fire, lightning, and ice magic attacks and a vertical spiral move that’s a bit like Link’s spin attack.

The new stage that will arrive alongside Sora is Hollow Bastion, in which you can see Maleficent’s castle from the first Kingdom Hearts in the background. Rather than including music with close ties to certain worlds in Kingdom Hearts, the team decided to pick central themes from the series for the nine song list additions. Also, if you have Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory save data on your Nintendo Switch, you’ll get “Dearly Beloved – Swing Version” as a bonus song.

Sora, Hollow Bastion, and the song list will be available on October 18th. The content is part of the Fighters Pass Vol. 2, but you can also buy it separately.

The Kingdom Hearts trilogy is coming to Nintendo Switch

Square Enix has announced that all three Kingdom Hearts main titles will be making their way to Nintendo Switch.

In celebration of the iconic franchise’s upcoming 20th anniversary, Square Enix will be releasing cloud versions of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts III + ReMind on the Nintendo Switch in the future. All three titles will be available to purchase individually or as an all-in-one Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece collection. No official release date or pricing has been confirmed as of yet, although fans will likely get more information as it gets closer.

It’s worth noting that since they’re cloud versions, you’ll be streaming the games, so an online connection is required to play.

Ubisoft announces free-to-play battle royale Ghost Recon Frontline

Ubisoft has announced that they’re working on a new battle royale game set within the Tom Clancy universe. Ghost Recon Frontline will be a free-to-play game that will pit you and two other teammates against more than one hundred other players.

Frontline will move the series away from its traditional third-person perspective to a first-person one. In its signature Expedition mode, you and your team will need to find three pieces of intel scattered across an island map. You’ll then later need to extract that information by calling in an airlift. Other teams can ambush you during this crucial moment and steal the data you fought so hard to obtain. Unlike other battle royales, the playspace won’t get smaller as the match progresses.

No launch date has yet been shared for Ghost Recon Frontline, but the game will release on Xbox Series S & X, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Stadia, Luna, and PC with full crossplay.

Host: Rob Logan [Twitter] [Twitch]

https://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1135558873-the-geek-generation-geek-news-brief-2021-10-04.mp3

The Umbrella Academy Season 3 will arrive in 2022

In celebration of the Hargreeves siblings’ birthday, Netflix has released a brand new promo for the third season of The Umbrella Academy, confirming that the superpowered family will make their return in 2022.

It’s also been confirmed that some episodes of the new season will take place at Hotel Oblivion, which was the title of Gerard Way’s third volume in The Umbrella Academy comics. Further details about Season 3’s plot are still being kept under wraps, but given that they’ll be featuring Hotel Oblivion, the episodes might potentially cover some of the material from that book.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl adds Aang, Korra, and Toph

The final three characters of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl have been revealed. Rounding out a roster of popular Nickelodeon fighters are Aang and Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender, as well as Korra from The Legend of Korra.

With the addition of those three characters from the Avatar universe, the confirmed roster for Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is now 20 characters deep and features other favorites like Leo and Mikey from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ren & Stimpy, Reptar, SpongeBob SquarePants and many more.

The game launches on October 5 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S&X, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Seinfeld hits Netflix, but aspect ratio change crops out some jokes

Classic ‘90s sitcom Seinfeld has arrived on Netflix after a six-year run on Hulu. Given that the show was filmed years before HD was a thing, it was originally displayed in a 4:3 aspect ratio on TV and the DVD sets that followed.

On Netflix, however, the show has been cropped into a 16:9 widescreen format to fit modern TVs, and as a result, some of the visual jokes have been cropped out.

A significant example has been pointed out by some Twitter users for the episode titled “The Pothole.” In the episode, George and Jerry are trying to find George’s lost keys, which were dropped into a pothole that was then paved over. In Netflix’s version, the pothole is completely cropped out, which leaves George yelling in the direction of a pothole that no one can see.

This isn’t a new problem for older shows coming to streaming services. A similar thing happened in 2019 when the entire run of The Simpsons hit Disney+. After a large number of complaints, Disney eventually released the seasons that aired in 4:3 in their original aspect ratio. Hopefully Netflix will do the same.

Host: MopGarden [Twitter | Twitch]

Just Chatting with MDee14

[download] [RSS] [Apple Podcasts] [Spotify] [Amazon] [SoundCloud] [Google Podcasts] [Stitcher] [TuneIn] [iHeartRadio]

MDee14 joins MopGarden to chat about planning the Twitch Toronto meetups, hate raids, and recently getting partnered.

Follow Just Chatting on Twitter

Support Just Chatting on Patreon: patreon.com/MopGarden

AcornBandit [Twitter]

The Southern Raiders

https://stream.redcircle.com/episodes/dc326b61-1d9b-4465-8ef4-98f74ae5df82/stream.mp3

Book Three Cover Art by Mirggles!

Host: Rob Logan [Twitter] [Twitch]

https://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1134082606-the-geek-generation-geek-news-brief-2021-10-01.mp3

The Book of Boba Fett series premiere date revealed

Disney has officially announced the release date for Lucasfilm’s newest Star Wars series, The Book of Boba Fett. Starring Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen, The Mandalorian spinoff is scheduled to make its debut on Wednesday, December 29.

The series is described as a thrilling Star Wars adventure that finds legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand navigating the Galaxy’s underworld when they return to the sands of Tatooine to stake their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 game will be a “little darker”

While not much has been revealed about Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2, Marvel has now made comments suggesting the sequel will be a darker follow-up to the original game.

Speaking on a recent This Week in Marvel podcast, Marvel’s creative vice president Bill Rosemann said, “If the first Spider-Man game was Star Wars, Spider-Man 2 is kind of our Empire. It gets a little darker.”

Rosemann also said that this game will have some new and old threads. The new threads are literal in that Insomniac has updated Miles’ and Peter’s suits just a little. The old threads are related to the story as the game will continue beats from those prior two games and will be the next big chapter.

Oreo Cakesters are returning in 2022… for good

A decade ago, Nabisco decided to pull Oreo Cakesters from store shelves, much to the dismay of customers. In the years since, the company has been flooded with messages begging to bring them back. Now, Nabisco has announced that Oreo Cakesters are back, and they’re here to stay.

The company is bringing back Cakesters in two varieties. The first is the familiar Oreo Cakesters that customers already know and love, and the second are Nutter Butter Cakesters featuring peanut butter creme in the middle.

Both offerings will be permanent additions to Nabisco’s extensive lineup of desserts, and will be available nationwide in the United States beginning sometime in 2022.

Host: Rob Logan [Twitter] [Twitch]

https://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1132957744-the-geek-generation-geek-news-brief-2021-09-29.mp3

Babylon 5 reboot in development at The CW from J. Michael Straczynski

A Babylon 5 reboot is in development at The CW with original series creator J. Michael Straczynski onboard to write and executive produce.

The new iteration of the sci-fi series is described as a “from-the-ground-up reboot.”

Straczynski commented about the approach they’re taking with the reboot, saying, “In the years since Babylon 5, I’ve done a ton of other TV shows and movies, adding an equal number of tools to my toolbox, all of which I can bring to bear on one singular question: If I were creating Babylon 5 today, for the first time, know what I now know as a writer, what would it look like? How would it use all the storytelling tools and technological resources available in 2021 that were not on hand then? How can it be used to reflect the world in which we live, and the questions we are asking and confronting every day?”

“So we will not be retelling the same story in the same way. There would be no fun and no surprises. Better to go the way of Westworld or Battlestar Galactica where you take the original elements that are evergreens and put them in a blender with a ton of new, challenging ideas, to create something fresh yet familiar.”

The Boys spinoff series ordered by Amazon

The Boys spinoff is moving forward at Amazon. The streamer has handed a series order for its college-set spinoff from Eric Kripke’s breakout superhero drama. As part of the pickup, Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters, who previously oversaw Marvel’s Agent Carter, have boarded the untitled series as showrunners.

In the works for more than a year, the untitled series is set at America’s only college exclusively for young-adult superheroes run by Vought International. It’s described as an irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive superheroes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities. It’s part college show, part Hunger Games — with all the heart, satire, and raunch of The Boys.

Said Kripke of the show, “Much like Mork & Mindy spun off from Happy Days, which is an insane and true fact, our spinoff will exist in the Vought Cinematic Universe, yet have a tone and style all its own. It’s our take on a college show, with an ensemble of fascinating, complicated, and sometimes deadly Young Supes.”

Netflix buys Oxenfree developer Night School Studio

The team behind hit indie game Oxenfree is joining Netflix, marking the first time the streaming giant has acquired a game developer. Netflix didn’t share many details about what it plans for the Night School team, but at very least it sounds like the studio will continue work on Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, and that its previous games will be available through the streaming platform.

Night School Studio said of the acquisition, “Our explorations in narrative gameplay and Netflix’s track record of supporting diverse storytellers was such a natural pairing. It felt like both teams came to this conclusion instinctively.”

Host: Rob Logan [Twitter] [Twitch]

https://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1131542773-the-geek-generation-geek-news-brief-2021-09-27.mp3

Russell T Davies to return as Doctor Who showrunner

BBC has announced that Russell T Davies will make his return to Doctor Who for its upcoming 60th Anniversary in 2023. The announcement comes after it was confirmed last July that current showrunner Chris Chibnall will be leaving the series after the upcoming thirteenth season and three 2022 specials.

Responsible for Doctor Who’s revival in 2005, he is credited with propelling the show into a global phenomenon and making it one of TV’s biggest hits. His tenure on the show oversaw a surge in popularity enjoying huge acclaim and success, enough to lead to two spin-off series, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures during that time.

The Witcher Season 3 and more spin-offs announced

Netflix has announced that their world of The Witcher is expanding. At their Tudum event, they announced a third season of the hit series is on the way. Additionally, a second anime feature is coming, and a kids and family series is in the works.

So far, no specific details have been revealed for any of those upcoming projects, but Season 2 of The Witcher is set to premiere on December 17th.

Marvel seeking legal action to maintain rights to some of its key characters

Marvel is currently suing to maintain full control of Avengers characters including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon, Thor, and others. The new lawsuits are directed at the heirs of their creators, including Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Gene Colan.

Under current U.S. laws, the author of a given work (or their heirs) can usually reclaim the rights to that work for themselves after a certain period of time. However, Marvel is seeking declaratory relief, claiming that because these characters were created as works for hire, they are ineligible for copyright termination. The work-for-hire defense has been Marvel’s go-to strategy in the past, most notably in cases against Jack Kirby and his family.

If Marvel loses, Disney would have to share ownership of characters worth billions. Ultimately, this isn’t a threat to having any of Marvel’s characters taken away from them, simply that they would share ownership and profits with those characters’ creators.

AcornBandit [Twitter]

The Boiling Rock, Part 2

https://stream.redcircle.com/episodes/b9e2de1f-7f13-44cd-90be-b222d3f57c7c/stream.mp3

Book Three Cover Art by Mirggles!

Host: Rob Logan [Twitter] [Twitch]

https://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1130091085-the-geek-generation-geek-news-brief-2021-09-24.mp3

Hulu announces The Orville’s Season 3 premiere date

Fans of The Orville can breathe a little easier as Hulu finally revealed the premiere date for the series’ long-awaited third season.

With a teaser that brings viewers back on deck, Hulu shared that the Seth MacFarlane dramedy, now dubbed The Orville: New Horizons, will debut March 10, 2022.

The Orville moved from Fox to Hulu in 2019, but the pandemic heavily disrupted plans to debut new episodes in late 2020. Fortunately, the new premiere date announcement means that fans won’t have to wait much longer.

If you’d like to revisit the show or enjoy it for the first time, you can watch the first two seasons on Hulu and listen to Quantum Drive, my podcast where we discuss every episode of the series.

Mario animated movie coming 2022 from Illumination

A new Super Mario Bros. animated movie from Illumination has revealed its cast, along with a release date of December 21, 2022.

The cast will be led by Chris Pratt as the iconic plumber, along with Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike. The longtime voice of Mario, Charles Martinet, is also set to appear in unspecified cameo roles.

Disney Classic Games Collection is back with Jungle Book and SNES Aladdin

Previously, a games bundle titled Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and Lion King was released which included both of those titles, but now, a new version has arrived titled simply the Disney Classic Games Collection. The new collection includes three classic Disney games, including different versions of Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Jungle Book.

The bundle adds a few new toys to the collection of beloved Disney games. The Jungle Book is the only completely new game in the collection, and players can choose between the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis versions. It also adds in the Super Nintendo version of Aladdin, where the prior bundle only offered the Genesis version.

Additionally, it will include versions of these games released for handhelds, additional behind-the-scenes content, additional music, the ability to watch playthroughs of each game, and the ability to rewind time if you make a mistake.

The Disney Classic Games Collection will come to Switch, PS4, PC, and Xbox on November 9th for $29.99. For those who own the previous bundle, you can upgrade to the new version with a DLC pack called “The Jungle Book and MORE Aladdin” for $9.99.