Continuum comment read out on SyFy!

During last night's high-octane episode of Continuum S2, on SyFy UK, I was surprised and delighted to hear my tweet read out on air during an ad break:

"... Continuum evokes fond memories of watching The X-Files..."

This typifies social media engagement at its best. Viewers can use the hashtag #Continuum during and after the show to continue the conversation with actors, producers and fans of the series.

For the uninitiated, Continuum is a Canadian science fiction series, which centres on the conflict between a group of rebels from the year 2077 who time travel to Vancouver, BC, in 2012, and a police officer who accidentally accompanies them.

On Twitter? Follow @johnhood.

The Return of Return of the Jedi

This weekend is the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi - marking the end of the original Star Wars trilogy - in the US!

It only seems a short while ago I was playing with action figures, vehicles and accessories, whilst listening to John Williams soundtrack album, prior to seeing the movie when it arrived in UK theatres in July (my dad's birthday was hijacked by teddy bears riding speeder bikes)...

To mark this momentous milestone, Entertainment Weekly approached filmmaker Kyle Newman (Fanboys). The result is The Return of Return of the Jedi: 30 Years and Counting, which shows elite geeks — among them Kevin Smith, Seth Green, Chris Hardwick, Jaime King, Topher Grace, Fall Out Boy, Eli Roth, and Jason Mewes — revisiting the movie in which tribal Teddy Ruxpins put down an Imperial invasion force with rocks, logs, and other Gilligan’s Island-esque props. Who saw that coming?

You can watch the video here.

It's only fitting I saw JJ Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness, which reprises a famous scene from Jedi, yesterday. How meta.

Xbox One: rebooting entertainment!

It's no exaggeration to say Xbox has become my binge-viewing platform of choice! From Game of Thrones to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and House of Cards to Battlestar Galactica.

Yesterday Microsoft unveiled its third iteration of Xbox, further drawing upon the streaming revolution, and hopes hardcore gamers will come along for the, tumultuous, ride, too.

Xbox One!

Has the company's marketing division taken a page out of JJ Abrams' writer's guide and hit the reboot switch? They realise this is the third iteration, right?

The Xbox One name has been explained by Microsoft's Jeff Henshaw.

"Xbox One really embodies the concept that this is the first device, the combination of this very powerful console that brings all its eight cores - 8GB of RAM, super-fast memory, super-powerful SoC we built, super-powerful dedicated audio and video processing subsystems," Henshaw said.

"There's incredible power in this device, married with the next generation of Kinect for really enabling those subtle interactions between you and your entertainment."

He continued: "To us, One is really the embodiment that this becomes one device that addresses all the entertainment you want to enjoy on your TV, and brings it to you in a way that's so simple, that it can be the only input you have connected through your television.

"It is truly the one place to go for all this. So One ends up being a deeply meaningful thing to us here.

"It's almost a bar that we are striving to achieve, and I think we nailed it really well with the Xbox One."

When asked about whether or not the name would be confusing, especially considering the original Xbox, Henshaw said: "The original Xbox was just the 'Xbox'. It wasn't 'One'.

"There's no resemblance anymore between the two [consoles]. You can't confuse them in any way.

"So when people say 'Xbox One', it's going to be reflective of this new generation of experiences. I really don't think there's going to be any confusion."

Xbox One looks like an archaic VCR from the 1980s! Would it be churlish of me to suggest the Xbox 360 S form factor looks more appealing? Within this imposing-looking monolith lurks the following technological treats:

*8-core CPU
*8 GB system memory
*500 GB HDD, non-user-serviceable
*Blu-ray drive with native support for 3D and 4K
*802.11n wireless with Wi-Fi Direct
*HDMI in/out
*USB 3.0

As a home entertainment device, Xbox One sounds impressive coupled with Snap Mode multitasking (via Kinect) - gestures always look cooler in Hollywood movies, mostly. Naturally Microsoft has pulled out all the stops for the Xbox One. Microsoft studios is promising 15 exclusive titles and eight new franchises for the Xbox One. These include the likes of the just announced Quantum Break. The announced games left me cold for now.

It's worth repeating @delphatic's comment on Twitter that Microsoft has held Skype back for Xbox One! The company could have added its VoIP service to Xbox 360 at anytime.

There are rumours suggesting an Xbox 360 dashboard refresh this summer, paving the way to the next generation Xbox LIVE, and official support will continue post Xbox One launch.

Following in the wake of Netflix's critical success with House of Cards and Amazon Studios' move into original series production. Halo is to be turned into a live-action television series under the auspices of director Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg said of the upcoming project, “I’ve been playing games for decades… For me the Halo universe is an amazing opportunity to be at that intersection where technology and mythmaking meet to produce something really ground-breaking.” Given Spielberg's less than auspicious track record in television, I'm not expecting too much.

There's no backwards compatibility with Xbox 360 or original Xbox. This also applies to digital downloads. So, it's worth holding onto your current machine, which isn't an ideal solution if space and finances are scarce.

Pre-order Xbox One here.

Star Wars Rebels on Disney XD

In the Fall of 2014 Disney will be filling the void left by Star Wars: The Clone Wars with a new CGI animated series!

Star Wars Rebels.

A 1-hour pilot for Star Wars Rebels will premiere on the Disney Channel before moving to Disney XD.

Lucasfilm have said: "Star Wars Rebels takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape."

Dave Filoni (The Clone Wars) suggests the series' look and feel will derive inspiration from Ralph McQuarrie's original concept art for Star Wars.

“The entire team at Lucasfilm has provided extraordinary creativity and innovation over three decades, and we’re thrilled to be bringing the expansive and imaginative world of ‘Star Wars’ to Disney XD’s viewers,” said Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Channels Worldwide.

I'm going to miss The Clone Wars! However, Star Wars Rebels should satiate fans whilst we wait for Episode VII.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers tipped for role in Star Wars?

Only last week I was discussing the alleged return of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford to the Star Wars saga with @seethree! Lamenting this wasn't a decade ago...

According to Latino Review, Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Bend It Like Beckham and The Tudors) maybe in the running for a role in Episode VII! The actor previously appeared in JJ Abrams' M:i:III.

Directed by Abrams, Star Wars: Episode VII will begin production in the UK next year, with the film expected to arrive in cinemas in 2015. Disney will own the summer with Avengers 2.

Who would you like to see cast in Star Wars?

JJ Abrams wants John Williams back for Star Wars

During a press conference for Star Trek Into Darkness, JJ Abrams was asked about John Williams' involvement in Episode VII:

"Again, for Star Wars, it’s very early days, but I believe that, going forward, John Williams will be doing that film, because he was there long before I was."

Today just turned all kinds of awesome!

Star Wars Day - May the 4th: How will you celebrate?

Star Wars Day is May the 4th! How you will celebrate this often overlooked holiday?

Lucasfilm alumnus Bonnie Burton explains the meaning of May the 4th!

JJ Abrams talks Trek and Star Wars in Playboy

JJ Abrams discusses directing Star Trek and Star Wars franchises in the latest issue of Playboy.

"The worlds are vastly different," says Abrams. "Honestly, that was why I passed on Star Wars to begin with. I couldn’t imagine doing both. But when I said that my loyalty was to Star Trek I was literally working on finishing this cut.

"I couldn’t even entertain another thought. It was like being on the most beautiful beach in the world and someone saying, “There’s this amazing mountain over here. Come take a look.” I couldn’t balance the two, so I passed on Star Wars.

"I was near the light at the end of the tunnel with my work on Star Trek," continues Abrams. "I felt I needed a bit of a breather, actually. But then Kathleen Kennedy called again. I’ve known her for years. We had a great conversation, and the idea of working with her on this suddenly went from being theoretical and easy to deny to being a real, tangible, thrilling possibility. In the end it was my wife, Katie, who said if it was something that really interested me, I had to consider it."

Abrams maintains that his Star Wars will have a very different look to his Star Trek.

"As with anything, because these are very different worlds, they shouldn’t feel the same aesthetically. They can’t. You’re right. But again, I don’t apply aesthetics first and fit a movie into that aesthetic. If I had come into Star Trek with those eyes, I would probably have been paralysed.

"The advantage here is that we still have George Lucas with us to go to and ask questions and get his feedback on things, which I certainly will do. With Star Trek it was harder because I wasn’t a Star Trek fan; I didn’t have the same emotional feeling, and I didn’t have Gene Roddenberry to go to. But I came to understand the world of Star Trek, and I appreciated what fans felt and believed about this universe and this franchise."

On the subject of a third Star Trek movie.

“I would say it’s a possibility. We’re trying to figure out the next step. But it’s like anything: It all begins with the story.”

Star Trek: Into Darkness opens in the UK on 17 May 2013, while Star Wars: Episode VII is expected in 2015.

Back in Vue

Starting today Vue Cinemas will be showing special screenings of a variety of cult classic films including the UK premiere of Little Shop of Horrors: The Director’s Cut tonight and the following over the next eight weeks; Evil Dead, Labyrinth, Stand By Me, Trainspotting, A Clockwork Orange, and the digital cinema premiere of Bonnie and Clyde.

This will culminate in a public vote via Facebook and Twitter to decide on the final screening which is to be between Anchorman, Enter The Dragon, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Robocop and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and will take place week commencing 10th June.

Stuart Boreman, Film Buying Director at Vue Entertainment said: “Back in Vue is a compilation of some of the stand-out cult films from the last five decades and includes some defining moments in modern cinema history, from River Pheonix coming of age in Stand By Me to the roller coaster ride of Danny Boyle’s British black comedy, Trainspotting.

“Now that all of our Vue Cinemas are fully digital we are able to schedule in a wider variety of content, making events like ‘Back in Vue’ something we can programme more often. It will be interesting to see which film makes the cut for the final slot in the public vote – all of them are worthy of a re-run on the big screen, but there can only be one winner!”

The Back in Vue season is exclusive to Vue Cinemas, in partnership with Park Circus distributors, and full details can be found at www.myvue.com/backinvue.

LucasArts closed and game over for Star Wars 1313

Rescue on Fractalus!, Ballblazer, Koronis Rift and The Eidolon are amongst my all-time favourite video games from the 8-bit era (I've written about them, previously)! These titles all emerged from the same studio in the 1980s: LucasArts.

LucasArts' (formerly Lucasfilm Games) story began over 30 years ago and, unceremoniously, ended this week. John Rivers takes a retrospective look at the studio synonymous with the point-and-click genre...

Guest post by John Rivers

There are some game studios that have their name unforgettably embedded in my memory: The Bitmap Brothers, Codemasters, Psygnosis, Sierra and, of course LucasArts. This week Disney announced that it has shut LucasArts and ceased all productions including the feted Star Wars 1313.

It was inevitable really, Disney is focusing all its Star Wars efforts on 2015 and the new JJ Abrams movie, but its decision to close LucasArts is the end of an era!

For me there are three or four games that will always remind me of LucasArts and not all of them classics. In fact the one that immediately springs to mind is one of the most fiddly and frustrating.

CD-ROM suddenly allowed you to actually feel like you were playing a movie. The huge capacity of a CD allowed for FMV to become prevalent and games like Myst and The Seventh Guest showcased the increased fidelity. Not so well-received (except perhaps in my house) was Rebel Assault!

Released in November 1993, Rebel Assault was an incredible looking and, at times, near unplayable journey through Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. It looked and, crucially for a Star Wars game, sounded fantastic. The on-rails nature of the shooting and ‘flying’ sequences betrayed a hapless game engine. Some levels were more fun if you skipped them. I remember if you moved your joystick up, down, left and right on the LucasArts logo then you would hear a whiny voice say “Lu-casArts” and you could skip levels.

Two other Star Wars games were much, much better: X-Wing brought the frankly dizzying prospect of a space fighter simulator to the Star Wars universe. It required great skills and tactical ability knowing whether to divert your power to your shields or weapons. Yes, it was frustratingly difficult and I remember getting stuck on a level where you had to protect a blockade runner. A colleague of my Dad’s had supplied me with a small .BAT program that I could run after successfully completing a mission. It backed up my pilot, so if he died I could fully restore him by simply copying him back in via DOS.

Dark Forces was the LucasArts entry into the First Person Shooter genre and put the terrible shooter memories of Rebel Assault to rest. Riding on the success of Doom, but using its own Jedi game engine, Dark Forces was atmospheric and exciting and showed that LucasArts could compete with the likes of id Software on their own terms.

The genre though that LucasArts defined is Point-and-Click and they arguably created its finest ever example.

The Secret of Monkey Island is one of gaming’s greatest franchises and greatest games full stop.

You play Guybrush Threepwood, who’s on the quest to become a mighty pirate. Funny, atmospheric and heavily based on Disney’s own Pirates of the Caribbean ride, TSOMI had an amazing plot that felt more like a movie than a game. You genuinely believe in the lead character and enjoy playing him as he goes from zero-to-hero. That I have this game on my iPhone and played through it all again, is a testament to how amazing it is. If you want to remember LucasArts then I suggest you download and play this game now.

LucasArts knew they were on to a good thing and what followed – Monkey Island 2, Day of the Tentacle, Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis and Sam & Max Hit the Road (which I pre-ordered as a kid and waited AGES for them to release it) are all some of the greatest adventure games ever.

So, goodbye, LucasArts. You not only created some good games, but contributed to the overall history of games, too. You will be missed.

This post originally appears here.