2000 AD
Prog 2400
First half of a multiverse-spanning crossover event, finishing up in that month's issue of Judge Dredd Megazine. It's a good thing they make a big fuss of these whenever they happen, otherwise I'd now be faced with sourcing a back issue — whereas instead, I can just go right on...
Judge Dredd Megazine
#472
The first 50-ish pages of this are the second half of the aforementioned crossover, and that's what I read. The rest is unrelated other stuff: a trio of interviews and several additional comic stories. Honestly, most of those don't interest me, so I don't intend to go back to them — not even the other Judge Dredd strip that's included, because it's a Part One and I don't have the following issues to finish it.
Friday, 20 June 2025
Thursday, 19 June 2025
TV
Age of Umbra
1x01 Desperloch [remainder]
It's been fairly widely commented upon, but combat really does flow so much more smoothly in Daggerheart than D&D. The latter makes it feel like a minigame: you stop, roll initiative, then everyone takes it in turn to do their combo of action / bonus action / movement. In Daggerheart, it just... starts. Okay, here Matt goes off to get a map, so it is still demarked in that sense, but it's only a slight pause. I can see how a less respectful or controlled table could turn it into chaos and/or one or two people dominating, but when played as intended, there's an ebb and flow that keeps it more engaging. Coupled with the different damage system in Daggerheart, which makes every strike more impactful, and I think overall it works much better, certainly as a viewer.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube or Beacon.]
Critical Role
Tag Team at the Teeth: Prologue
A nine-minute setup for their two Australian live shows. Watching this now feels a bit like taunting myself, because who knows how long it’s going to be before I can actually watch the shows proper? (I’m not in Australia, so can’t see them live. I’m not in the US or Canada, so can’t see them in a cinema later this week / next week. Presumably they'll be on Beacon shortly afte Age of Umbra, but they’re set after Campaign 3, so really I’m a couple of hundred episodes off getting to them.)
[Watch it (again) on YouTube or Beacon.]
Critical Role Cooldown
Age of Umbra Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on Beacon.]
Critical Role Live Show: Sydney || LIVE Beacon Backstage Pass
So, while it's going to be a while before the show itself is on Beacon, they did do this backstage livestream beforehand. It's just hanging out with the cast, doing things like improv warmup and eating Vegemite for the first time, but that's fun in its own way (for some us, at least).
[Watch it (again) on Beacon.]
1x01 Desperloch [remainder]
It's been fairly widely commented upon, but combat really does flow so much more smoothly in Daggerheart than D&D. The latter makes it feel like a minigame: you stop, roll initiative, then everyone takes it in turn to do their combo of action / bonus action / movement. In Daggerheart, it just... starts. Okay, here Matt goes off to get a map, so it is still demarked in that sense, but it's only a slight pause. I can see how a less respectful or controlled table could turn it into chaos and/or one or two people dominating, but when played as intended, there's an ebb and flow that keeps it more engaging. Coupled with the different damage system in Daggerheart, which makes every strike more impactful, and I think overall it works much better, certainly as a viewer.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube or Beacon.]
Critical Role
Tag Team at the Teeth: Prologue
A nine-minute setup for their two Australian live shows. Watching this now feels a bit like taunting myself, because who knows how long it’s going to be before I can actually watch the shows proper? (I’m not in Australia, so can’t see them live. I’m not in the US or Canada, so can’t see them in a cinema later this week / next week. Presumably they'll be on Beacon shortly afte Age of Umbra, but they’re set after Campaign 3, so really I’m a couple of hundred episodes off getting to them.)
[Watch it (again) on YouTube or Beacon.]
Critical Role Cooldown
Age of Umbra Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on Beacon.]
Critical Role Live Show: Sydney || LIVE Beacon Backstage Pass
So, while it's going to be a while before the show itself is on Beacon, they did do this backstage livestream beforehand. It's just hanging out with the cast, doing things like improv warmup and eating Vegemite for the first time, but that's fun in its own way (for some us, at least).
[Watch it (again) on Beacon.]
Games
Garfield Kart: Furious Racing
Not the kind of thing I normally play, obviously, but I've seen so much stuff online going on and on about the Switch 2, it's making me want one; but the main (some might say "only", but let's not get into that) game currently is Mario Kart, and I've never been a huge kart racing game fan. Nonetheless, it put the idea in my head so much that I decided to try to scratch the itch by seeing what was free to play on Luna — and this was the only option.
Is it a good game? Probably not. I'm sure gamers would say it's not even close to Mario Kart (which it's clearly designed to emulate). But did it scratch that itch, as a free version of something I only really want to play because there's so much chatter about it? Yes, it did.
Not the kind of thing I normally play, obviously, but I've seen so much stuff online going on and on about the Switch 2, it's making me want one; but the main (some might say "only", but let's not get into that) game currently is Mario Kart, and I've never been a huge kart racing game fan. Nonetheless, it put the idea in my head so much that I decided to try to scratch the itch by seeing what was free to play on Luna — and this was the only option.
Is it a good game? Probably not. I'm sure gamers would say it's not even close to Mario Kart (which it's clearly designed to emulate). But did it scratch that itch, as a free version of something I only really want to play because there's so much chatter about it? Yes, it did.
Wednesday, 18 June 2025
TV
Age of Umbra
1x01 Desperloch [1st hour]
As I've reached a very convenient end-of-story-arc point in my Campaign 2 viewing, I'm making a start on their currently-running Daggerheart-based miniseries. It's still the same players and GM playing a story-focused TTRPG, and yet the system switchup somehow makes it feel fresh and exciting. Interesting.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube or Beacon.]
Ever since I started watching Critical Role, I’ve debated where to categorise it. Some would just say it’s TV, but I started watching it on YouTube — that’s not really TV, that’s just online video slop, right? (I get that this is a generational thing, and I’m definitely of a generation that doesn’t respect “YouTubers”.) I don’t even watch CR on my TV, but on my computer or tablet, something I would never dream of doing with real TV (this is less generational, more just being a purist — or, if you prefer, snob). But it sits uncomfortably under the “Video” heading too — that was created more for short-form disposable stuff.
Anyway, after (too) much reflection, I’ve decided to ‘upgrade’ CR and its associated content, and the start of their newest miniseries seemed as good a changeover point as any. Funnily enough, tomorrow this will include their backstage pre-show livestream from Sydney, which immediately threw me into a conundrum: a livestream is definitely more “Video” than “TV”. But I don’t want to split their stuff up like that, so I guess it’s all TV now!
Maybe I should just call it “Content”. My Content Experience. Ugh.
1x01 Desperloch [1st hour]
As I've reached a very convenient end-of-story-arc point in my Campaign 2 viewing, I'm making a start on their currently-running Daggerheart-based miniseries. It's still the same players and GM playing a story-focused TTRPG, and yet the system switchup somehow makes it feel fresh and exciting. Interesting.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube or Beacon.]
Ever since I started watching Critical Role, I’ve debated where to categorise it. Some would just say it’s TV, but I started watching it on YouTube — that’s not really TV, that’s just online video slop, right? (I get that this is a generational thing, and I’m definitely of a generation that doesn’t respect “YouTubers”.) I don’t even watch CR on my TV, but on my computer or tablet, something I would never dream of doing with real TV (this is less generational, more just being a purist — or, if you prefer, snob). But it sits uncomfortably under the “Video” heading too — that was created more for short-form disposable stuff.
Anyway, after (too) much reflection, I’ve decided to ‘upgrade’ CR and its associated content, and the start of their newest miniseries seemed as good a changeover point as any. Funnily enough, tomorrow this will include their backstage pre-show livestream from Sydney, which immediately threw me into a conundrum: a livestream is definitely more “Video” than “TV”. But I don’t want to split their stuff up like that, so I guess it’s all TV now!
Maybe I should just call it “Content”. My Content Experience. Ugh.
Monday, 16 June 2025
Sunday, 15 June 2025
Podcasts
The Empire Spoiler Special Film Podcast
Christopher McQuarrie on Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Part One
Christopher McQuarrie on Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Part One
Videos
Critical Role
2x108 Traveler Con [1st half]
Just 77 episodes (that's over half the campaign) after it was first mentioned (even at my accelerated pace, it's been a whole year since I watched that episode; in real life, it was over two years) — and after many, many episodes of steadily increasing mentions and preparations as it got closer and closer — Traveler Con is finally here!
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x108 Traveler Con [1st half]
Just 77 episodes (that's over half the campaign) after it was first mentioned (even at my accelerated pace, it's been a whole year since I watched that episode; in real life, it was over two years) — and after many, many episodes of steadily increasing mentions and preparations as it got closer and closer — Traveler Con is finally here!
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Saturday, 14 June 2025
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Three new purchases this week, all new releases — two from this week, one ahead of next week — with two of them being splashy UHD Collector's Editions, and one of those an upgrade to an existing Blu-ray.
Number of titles in collection: 3,556 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 986 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,570 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 475 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,566 [up 7]
Number of films: 4,512 [up 2]
Number of additional cuts: 446 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 10,154 [up 2]
Number of short films: 1,239 [up 1]
It's also time for the monthly running time update, which passes a milestone...
Total running time of collection (approx.):
601 days, 17 hours, and 21 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 20 hours, and 37 minutes from last month.)
Yes, I've now passed 600 days! I passed 500 days back in March 2022 (with no fanfare). That's 3 years and 3 months ago, fact fans. I'd passed 400 days in July 2018, which was 3 years and 8 months before 500 — so the speed at which my collection increases is increasing. That doesn't surprise me in the slightest.
Purely in running time terms, my collection has doubled in size in just under 11 years. The number of titles has more than doubled in that time (makes sense, as the amount of TV thats gets released/bought by me has steadily decreased, and that has much higher running times per title). My DVD colleciton has shrunk by 17.9% in that time, while my Blu-rays have increased five-fold. I now own almost as many UHDs as I did Blu-rays back then. Considering I described 300 days as "madness" and I now have doubled that, I do have to wonder when (if) it will ever stop... Well, if I continue as I have been, logically I'll reach 700 hours around March 2028 — so let's see!
On a more immediate scale: I'll see you next week, faithful reader.
Three new purchases this week, all new releases — two from this week, one ahead of next week — with two of them being splashy UHD Collector's Editions, and one of those an upgrade to an existing Blu-ray.
Number of titles in collection: 3,556 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 986 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,570 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 475 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,566 [up 7]
Number of films: 4,512 [up 2]
Number of additional cuts: 446 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 10,154 [up 2]
Number of short films: 1,239 [up 1]
It's also time for the monthly running time update, which passes a milestone...
Total running time of collection (approx.):
601 days, 17 hours, and 21 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 20 hours, and 37 minutes from last month.)
Yes, I've now passed 600 days! I passed 500 days back in March 2022 (with no fanfare). That's 3 years and 3 months ago, fact fans. I'd passed 400 days in July 2018, which was 3 years and 8 months before 500 — so the speed at which my collection increases is increasing. That doesn't surprise me in the slightest.
Purely in running time terms, my collection has doubled in size in just under 11 years. The number of titles has more than doubled in that time (makes sense, as the amount of TV thats gets released/bought by me has steadily decreased, and that has much higher running times per title). My DVD colleciton has shrunk by 17.9% in that time, while my Blu-rays have increased five-fold. I now own almost as many UHDs as I did Blu-rays back then. Considering I described 300 days as "madness" and I now have doubled that, I do have to wonder when (if) it will ever stop... Well, if I continue as I have been, logically I'll reach 700 hours around March 2028 — so let's see!
On a more immediate scale: I'll see you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 13 June 2025
Thursday, 12 June 2025
Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Games
Batman: Arkham Knight
It's over six months since I got my Luna controller — crikey, so long? Yeah, I've barely used it. To be honest, I didn't have the greatest experience with A Plague Tale — it was ok, but I've never really felt like going back to it. Things went better with Everything or Nothing, but I think my iffiness with the analogue sticks prevented me from revisiting it beyond the tutorial stages (I do still want to, though). And then I tried Final Fantasy VII, which... I sort of didn't get on with? The lack of free saving annoyed me, especially as I ended up having to play for hours when I didn't actually want to just to get to another save point. Maybe that's because I was still early in tutorial-esque bits and it gets better? It is a revered classic, after all.
Anyway, I finally whipped the controller out again today, to have a go at this Batman game that's currently available through Luna to regular Amazon Prime members (there's also an additional Luna+ sub that gets you even more, but I don't use it enough for that — evidently). This was the fourth in the series of 'Arkham' Batman games. I don't normally like I starting with the last, but this is the one that's free, so...
I ended up playing for about two hours — not because a lack of save points forced me to, but because I was actually enjoying it. I can certainly feel I'm out of practice at this type of gaming (aside from the aforementioned tests at the end of last year, I guess the last time I properly picked up a controller was pushing 20 years ago? Jesus, time flies...), but the game wasn't so punishing that I couldn't get somewhere (I did put it on 'easy' mode, but I feel no shame about that — like I said, I'm terribly out of practice. And, frankly, dying over and over and getting nowhere has never been part of the fun of gaming for me). Also, it looked pretty great. It's 10 years old, but when I haven't really played games since the GameCube / original Xbox (I did dabble with the Wii, but not enough give the amount of stuff I bought for it), I guess I feel the jump more! Imagine what I'd think of a new game...
Anyway, I can't promise I'll stick at this too much, because there are plenty of other demands on my free time (films, books, comics, podcasts, audio dramas, self-learning, card games, board games... eesh!), but I'm definitely more inclined to return now. The only possible downside is, the game is due to expire on Luna on the 1st of July — there's no way I'm going to play it enough to finish it by then. It's listed as being about 17 hours just for the main story, but I'm so out of practice that I suspect it will take me longer; and I'm always a completist, so the 31-hour-plus higher estimates seem more like it.
It's over six months since I got my Luna controller — crikey, so long? Yeah, I've barely used it. To be honest, I didn't have the greatest experience with A Plague Tale — it was ok, but I've never really felt like going back to it. Things went better with Everything or Nothing, but I think my iffiness with the analogue sticks prevented me from revisiting it beyond the tutorial stages (I do still want to, though). And then I tried Final Fantasy VII, which... I sort of didn't get on with? The lack of free saving annoyed me, especially as I ended up having to play for hours when I didn't actually want to just to get to another save point. Maybe that's because I was still early in tutorial-esque bits and it gets better? It is a revered classic, after all.
Anyway, I finally whipped the controller out again today, to have a go at this Batman game that's currently available through Luna to regular Amazon Prime members (there's also an additional Luna+ sub that gets you even more, but I don't use it enough for that — evidently). This was the fourth in the series of 'Arkham' Batman games. I don't normally like I starting with the last, but this is the one that's free, so...
I ended up playing for about two hours — not because a lack of save points forced me to, but because I was actually enjoying it. I can certainly feel I'm out of practice at this type of gaming (aside from the aforementioned tests at the end of last year, I guess the last time I properly picked up a controller was pushing 20 years ago? Jesus, time flies...), but the game wasn't so punishing that I couldn't get somewhere (I did put it on 'easy' mode, but I feel no shame about that — like I said, I'm terribly out of practice. And, frankly, dying over and over and getting nowhere has never been part of the fun of gaming for me). Also, it looked pretty great. It's 10 years old, but when I haven't really played games since the GameCube / original Xbox (I did dabble with the Wii, but not enough give the amount of stuff I bought for it), I guess I feel the jump more! Imagine what I'd think of a new game...
Anyway, I can't promise I'll stick at this too much, because there are plenty of other demands on my free time (films, books, comics, podcasts, audio dramas, self-learning, card games, board games... eesh!), but I'm definitely more inclined to return now. The only possible downside is, the game is due to expire on Luna on the 1st of July — there's no way I'm going to play it enough to finish it by then. It's listed as being about 17 hours just for the main story, but I'm so out of practice that I suspect it will take me longer; and I'm always a completist, so the 31-hour-plus higher estimates seem more like it.
Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Videos
Critical Role
2x107 Devoutness and Dicks [2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x107 Devoutness and Dicks [2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
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