Digital Gonzo

Continuing our in-depth investigations into the most important big screen depictions of The Superman, this time we're looking at the 2009 adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' seminal graphic novel, Watchmen. It contains a being of supreme power and a frightened world on the verge of self-destruction. It is also a satirical sideways glance at the otherwise ordinary people who put on masks and take to the streets to fight crime.  I finally have a name for this new style. I've never been happy with the word "Review" to describe what we do here at Gonzo. A good critic can get a film reviewed in ten minutes. What these shows are, what they have been for years and now with the more delineated sections for focused audio articles by myself and other contributors I will, from now on be describing as...

"Dynamic Analyses" 

I had to think up something punchy that was shorthand for ridiculously detailed and nerdy examination of every facet of a piece of media, from the viewpoint of multiple sources, and I think it fits rather well. Anyway, what better work to flex the new format to than the single most sacred cow in comic history. 

Who's for steak? 

I kid, I kid... but seriously, we go into this one fearlessly and hold both book and film to account, whilst celebrating their strong points. 

Table of contents.

1. Intro
2. The Long and Winding Road to Watching Watchmen 
3. Tales of the Black Freighter (Lorin Grieve)
4. A Digital Cowboy on Watchmen (Tony Atkins) 
5. Round-table 1:  Alternate History / Adaptation / Music
6. Four Points on Watchmen (David Hartrick) 
7. Round-table 2: Cold war
8. Not Quite Watchmen (Joshua Garrity)
9. Never Read It (Matt Ramsey)
10. Time Observation
11. Round-table 3: Comedian / Rorschach
12. Silk Specter II: An Exercise in Ambivalence (Sharon Shaw)
13. Round-table 4: Dan Dreiberg / Doctor Manhattan / Ozymandias / The End
14. Walking With Giants 
15. Epilogue

---------

3. Read by Sharon Shaw
6. Read by Matt Ramsey
All round-table sessions include Joshua Garrity and Sharon Shaw
All other material written and read by Alex Shaw

I'm trying out a new format this week. Rather than the usual round-table discussion this is a series of audio articles on Superman and in particular the 2006 film Superman Returns. This is the perfect film to do this for because it's hated by so many, liked by several, it opens up the archetypal hero for analysis in a way none of the earlier films did and it had an incredibly protracted development cycle of nigh-on twenty years.  

1. Intro 
2. Superman Returns: Good, Bad or Both? 
3. Kryptonite 101 
4. Kevin Smith on Superman Lives 
5. The Non-Making of Superman
6. This is why Superman Doesn’t Work Alone 
7. A Couple of Things You May Not Have Noticed 
8. A Comic Fan on Superman 
9. Superboy 
10. The Joy of Lex 
11. Lois’ Pain 
12. Superman’s Return 

I hope you guys will find it entertaining, deep and funny. One of the benefits of this format is that it allows community members to get their views aired so that it facilitates a mix of viewpoints. I think this could potentially work a lot better than the cyclical bickering contest that contentious film reviews on podcasts sometimes become. Let us know on the forums what you think of it. Next week's Watchmen will be in the same style. This won't replace the standard Gonzo format, but it's not every film lends itself to the same uniform manner of review and this is simply another approach. 

Chapter 2. Written by Lucas Windsor. Read by Matt Ramsey
Chapter 6. Written and read by Sharon Shaw
Chapter 8. Written by David Hartrick. Read by Matt Ramsey
Chapter 11. Written by Alex Shaw. Read by Sharon Shaw

This is the first of five podcasts covering the Superman movies. Rather than being slavish to format and giving a show each to every single one including the many animated choices out there I have devoted my attention to the most interesting and significant portrayals of The Superman in the past three and a half decades. 

This episode covers all four of the Christopher Reeve films. 

1978. Superman
1980. Superman II
1983. Superman III
1987. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Next week will be Bryan Singer's fan project, Superman Returns (2006) then Watchmen (2009), which centres around Alan Moore's Superman analog, Doctor Manhattan. That film also got Zack Snyder directing duties on the next podcast subject, this year's Man of Steel. We finish off with my current favourite take on the mythology, from 2008, the tale of a lonely, outcast, drunken, surly superbeing, Hancock, played with heart and humour by Will Smith.

Fans of the Reeve films be aware, There are a few things I really like about these pictures and a whole heap of stuff that I don't. There is ranting aplenty this week, and I am joined by Neil Taylor of GameBurst and Paul Gibson of Gonzo Planet.

Welcome to a very special episode. This was recorded live at the Gonzo Planetary Expo, GPLEX 2013. This was a gathering of 32 community members at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham for a weekend of tabletop and video gaming, live events and a trip to the cinema to see Star trek Into Darkness together.

There are two main sections of this show.

1. Never Mind the BuzzGeeks: Live pub quiz.

2. Charity auction in aid of Special Effect. 

Together we raised £2,195 in pledges to help people in extremely difficult physical situations share the joy of playing games. Go to www.specialeffect.org.uk for more details and if you would like to add your donation you can do so from the Gonzo Planet homepage. 

You should also track down the following podcasts recorded on the day. 

* Desert Island Gonzo

* GameBurst

* Praxis Effect

And if we're very lucky, Neil Taylor will provide us with some tasty video footage. For those who were there on the day, this should provide you with some amusing memories. For those who weren't, I hope this provides you with the flavour and gets you thinking about attending GPLEX 2014.

This is principally a review of the 2009 film directed by J.J. Abrams. Now every podcast I have listened to covering this movie is largely negative, so if you want to hear something along those lines you have an ocean of choice available to you. My crew and I however, love the film for a multitude of reasons of which we will go into in great detail, not forgetting of course to point out the bits that don’t make sense. So if that’s something you’d like to hear then you came to the right place.

There is a brief history of Star Trek at the beginning and an extended essay running throughout. i'm actually surprised at the depths we ended up reaching, having never been a fan before this film.

With me are Joshua Garrity of Cane and Rinse, Sharon Shaw of Do try This at Home, Jerome McIntosh of  Gonzo Planet and for the first time in well over a year Mr Michael Fox of The Little Metal Do Show, Joypod and Sprocket Games. 

Next week: Star Trek Into Darkness

We're back for the concluding half of the Infinite discussion. If I was going to suggest people who had problems with the game listen to the first part, I'd say by the same token that those who loved it will get more out of this second installment. Of course if you're up to having your feelings on this delicate matter royally challenged you should listen to both. 

Once again I'm joined by Daniel Floyd of Extra Credits, Joshua Garrity of Cane and Rinse and Matt Lees of Videogamer. 

This show starts with a trio of audio articles on BioShock Infinite. My deeper thoughts are scattered about the podcast in a hopefully cogent fashion. Among other things we talk music, sensory memory, free will, constants and variables, plot holes, religion, and the ramifications of this title on the greater games industry. 

02.00 Meeting Elizabeth [By Daniel Floyd]
13.00 Infinite Criticisms [By David Merrett]
19.00 Is a Better Home Awaiting? [By James Batchelor]
31.00 Main Show

Next week: Star Trek

The discussion alone on this one lasted more than three and a half hours so I figured as with the Lord of the Rings shows, dividing this into two parts would make it as accessible as possible.

Daniel Floyd of Extra Credits and Joshua Garrity of Cane and Rinse make their first appearance on the BioShock shows here. In actual fact we actually recorded a session a week ago, but the file corrupted and not being slaves to calamity we geared up for another go.

A late addition to the cast is long-time gaming journalist Matt Lees of Videogamer.com. He was brought in to mitigate the gushing praise that dominated the first, doomed recording. The end result is a more balanced show. 

The show starts with audio adaptations of YouTube videos on BioShock Infinite from myself and Matt. If you've already seen them you can jump to the relevant time-stamp.

04.00: BioShock Infinite Explained [Gonzo Planet Style]
21.00: Everything BioShock Infinite Gets Wrong
37.00: Main Show

We'll be back with Part 2 in a few days time.

First-time host from Gonzo Planet, Mr Paul Gibson heads up the discussion this month, joined by Matt Ramsey of Do Try This at Home and Andi Duncan of GameBurst.

Topics include: Are we too hard on brand new machines straight out of the gate? Whether the preponderance of HD remakes is positive in the long run for us as players and why people are so highly strung over spoilers.

The show was edited by Alex who tried ever so hard not to insert himself into proceedings. 

Talk about the show on Twitter with the many hosts using the hashtag #PraxisEffect. Contact us via email at praxiseffect@gmail.com and come to the Gonzo Planet forums where there is a Praxis Effect section. We want to hear you guys use these discussions as jumping off points for debate. 

The third of four podcasts covering this wonderful, absorbing series. This time we focus on the DLC for BioShock 2, a five hour standalone narrative centering around Rapture's early computer system.

The fictional technology of BioShock is woven in with real world events and people, chiefly Alan Turing and in this show we get to discuss how this is presented and what makes this a powerful, effective, personal little narrative.

I would imagine everybody has played this by now, but if not it's well worth the 800 point asking price. This show is full to the brim with spoilers over the first three games so make sure you know everything you need to going in. 

My guests are once again Sharon Shaw of Do try This at Home, Mark Ord of Gaming ORDtopsy and we're joined by Chris Eason of GameBurst. You will also hear a snippet of Gary Blower from the GameBurst replay covering this game and more from Tony Atkins of Cane and Rinse on the multiplayer mode and Protector Trials.

We do of course steer clear of Columbia for one more week, but next time we're all about BioShock Infinite, and I will as always endeavour to put out the most entertaining, deep and complex podcast covering this game.