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Thy Will Be Done, by Reed Lackey

27 Aug

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Do you remember that scene where Jesse, at one of his most bitter and harsh moments, is playing a first-person shooter video game? The screen holds on an image with two words: “Quit” and “Restart”. For a lengthy moment, Jesse’s cursor hovers over the word “Quit” before ultimately flicking over and selecting to “Restart”.

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Josh on the Televerse

21 Aug

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Josh was recently a guest on the Televerse podcast, discussing the classic comedy television show Get Smart.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Survival, by Tyler Smith

4 May

“Survivor” has long since established itself as a prime time staple.  In many ways, it has paved the way for reality competition programs.  Challenges, alliances, confrontations; it all started with “Survivor.”  I myself was never a big fan of the show; like so many others, I wrote it off as “just another reality show.”

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Welcome to the Tombs, by Travis Fishburn

5 Apr

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Sunday night’s finale of The Walking Dead, entitled Welcome to the Tombs,  concluded the opposition between the prison group and the citizens of Woodbury. The episode managed to successfully dish out a little slice of everything: suspense, horror, action, emotional conflict, and philosophical dialogue. All the while, the episode maintained the attention-grabbing quality that the show has earned this season.

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Clear, by Travis Fishburn

7 Mar

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It seems that as the quality of the The Walking Dead increases week-by-week, the moral convictions of its protagonists decrease. On Sunday night’s episode, entitled Clear, we discovered the fate of Rick’s friend, Morgan, whom we last saw back in the first season. As powerful as the scenes featuring the interaction between Rick and Morgan were, the scenes which left a lasting impression on me are the bookends of this episode.

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Losing Confidence, by Travis Fishburn

26 Feb

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The past two weeks of The Walking Dead have raised a lot of questions regarding leadership, most notably the mental competency of Rick Grimes and his ability to effectively lead by example. Rick’s skills in the first two seasons helped his group to survive and persevere while learning to trust one another. they’ve been surviving and living, but in fear of anyone and everyone unassociated with them. From Glenn to Hershel, and most recently his own son, Carl, it also seems that the majority of the members living within the prison are having a difficult time maintaining confidence in Rick.

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The Suicide King, by Travis Fishburn

13 Feb

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After a 2 month hiatus, The Walking Dead returned on Sunday night. With it came the same level of tension strewn among each of the characters that was established earlier this season. After an opening that quickly resolved the last episode’s cliffhanger ending with a showcase of gunfire and smoke bombs, the episode steers back into exploring the current standing of Rick’s group, and how well he’s holding everyone within it together.

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A Celebration of Inhumanity, by Tyler Smith

3 Jan

The last couple of days have been very strange for me.  It has been a true roller coaster of emotion.  It has been a time of introspection and self analysis.  And, no, this actually has nothing whatsoever to do with my depression.  This came about because of a television show called “Deadliest Warrior.”

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Made to Suffer, by Travis Fishburn

8 Dec

It’s going to be another 2 months until The Walking Dead comes back with another batch of 8 episodes to complete this season, and I’m immensely looking forward to it. In the past few episodes, the series has evoked feelings within me that I haven’t had since Lost was airing.

That reference might not sound appealing to everyone. To me, Lost currently remains to be my favorite show of all time. When it aired, I had never watched any of HBO’s original series, so the show introduced me to the possibilities and quality in a television show. The show’s run, and especially its finale, garnered a lot of backlash from viewers who had become invested and were dissatisfied with the show’s ultimate destination. What Lost all came down to, in the end, was its characters. Now, maybe I’m alone, but if I want to engage with and invest in a show, the most important thing for me are characters. While the mysteries and sci-fi elements of both Lost and The Walking Dead make them inherently geeky (a quality that never loses points in my book), what makes each of them great are the relationships, trials, and evolution of their characters. Similarly, while the show title of Lost was really referencing the “lost” state of the characters’ souls, I use the same approach when looking at the name The Walking Dead.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

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Dead Men Walking, by Travis Fishburn

12 Nov

Recently, I’ve found myself truly engaged by The Walking Dead. Just under a month ago, I wouldn’t have believed that to be possible. Halfway through the second season, watching the series on a weekly basis had nearly turned into a chore. The show, like the characters within it, seemed to know that it had to eventually move in a certain direction, but was unwilling to pick up and move. I didn’t want to dislike the show. It had a simple and intriguing premise, which offered it the opportunity to explore some interesting aspects of human survival and perseverance. Within the first few episodes of this season, I felt like the show was finally hitting the right pace for my preference, and was finally beginning to explore human nature faced with a world that’s free of civilization and the laws that accompany it.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

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