So, whatcha been doin'?

[eurydicebound]

I, for one, have partaken of the following recently:

1) The Dresden Files. Yes, Bob isn't just a skull and he isn't ogling every woman who comes into the house -- good thing, too, as only a little boy and a skinwalker came into the house, and that would have been creepy. But he's played by Terrence fucking Mann.... just, wow. How the Sci-Fi channel pulled that one off, I'll never know. Yes, it's a bracelet and not a necklace... yes, the uncle may still be alive. You know what? Who the fuck cares? It's a TV show, and it's got the spirit of the books down pat. Everything else is just details that change in the ebb and flow between media.

After a brief foray into online fan discussion, I have decided that it is enough for me to like it so long as I don't have to listen to constant bitching about it. It's still a bit rough, but it has a great deal of promise. Congratulations to Jim Butcher for having a TV show based on his work come out he doesn't have to be afraid to have his name associated with. Greater literary lights than his have been disappointed, frankly, but Jim is both talented and a really nice person. It couldn't have happened for a better guy.

2) Heroes. Brannon showed me part of the season premiere, damn it, and now I'm working very hard to maintain my "Heroes? Oh, that" reaction. It looked good, actually. Sigh. Like I need another show to watch, really.

3) FFG's Marvel Superheroes board game. It was pretty fun, but that was aided heavily by getting to play it with a fun crowd. Very process heavy. I think it captured a bit of the comic book feel (and kept the teams together, which was good), but the game itself didn't explain very well what steps happened when. There was a card to help you keep track of game play, but the different stages of play were not arranged in order, thus rendering it largely ineffective. It was very pretty, but it fell down for me in actually conveying how to play it and making that happen smoothly. Had there not been an experienced player there to walk us through it, I think we'd have packed it up early and moved on, which would have been too bad.

Comments

[thebitterguy]

Heroes is crack for nerds. Utterly addictive, unless they're a grumpy gus who hates TV. The MSH game looks A) pretty and B) expensive.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, and yes.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

The books are pretty tightly paced, and Butcher's very good at characterization and building a world with broad strokes. It's natural, then, that fans of the books would want to see those things preserved. Doesn't mean they're right, though. :)

[metallian.livejournal.com]

You're so right about the Marvel board game. We also found it fun but very tricky to play. (Reviews indicate that most people do.) However, I have since found a handy flowchart for it. I haven't played it since I found the flowchart, but I'm pretty sure it will make the gameplay go MUCH faster. I wish the game designers had just made one like that and included it in the box!