Some of you may recall the epic seven-part video review of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace that totaled 70 minutes in length by RedLetterMedia. If you haven’t seen it, you may be wondering who would be able to speak at length about that movie for over an hour. Mostly (almost entirely) it picks apart what’s wrong with the film in intricate detail, but adds enough production value and humor to make it well worth your time.

Recently, that same guy posted a 20-minute review of Avatar. And whether you agree with his assessment of the film or not, there are some interesting points made.

Check it out after the jump [...]

Wizard Entertainment announced Atlanta as the ninth location for their Wizard World Comic Conventions with no date attached as of this report.

The “TBD” status is enough to send a chill up the spine of smaller comic and entertainment convention promoters who remember the fervor that swept over the industry during Wizard’s first attempt at an Atlanta show in 2006. The company scheduled their event for the same date as the Charlotte, NC Hero Con — a move that caused guests to take sides and eventually derail the show completely.

That was over four years ago and Wizard hasn’t been back, until now. This time, however, their actions suggest trying to avoid conflict by purchasing one (of four) of the 16-year-old Atlanta Comic Convention events from veteran show promoter Wes Tillander.

As for any overlap, there would be concerns when it comes to the smaller niche Cons held in the city but the long-standing Dragon*Con is likely to be a safe haven if not only for the major hotels all being booked well in advance for the 2010 Labor Day weekend show [...]

For years it seemed like television networks weren’t interested in bringing the zombie apocalypse to the small screen. Honestly, I can see why, too. Zombies are sort of like the grandfather of all horror movies so when TV executives hear of an entire program devoted to the undead, it sounds hokey… or at least it did.

Recently AMC commissioned a pilot for Walking Dead, the ultra popular Image comic book series created by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. This is the first real development for a TV-series based on zombies, but there have been rumors that MTV was in talks to produce another based on George Romero’s classic film Dawn of the Dead.

The world has never known one zombie prime time hour, let alone two. Since time is valuable and if you were forced to choose one… which would win your valuable time? [...]

Creator of the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, Russell T. Davies is reportedly in talks to develop a version of the hit BBC show for American audiences.

If Fox decides to order a pilot of the series, John Barrowman, who plays the show’s lead character Captain Jack Harkness, could also star, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

What is unclear at this time is whether the series will be in continuity with the Cardiff-based Torchwood. If this does indeed pan out to be true and Barrowman is attached for the pilot, I would assume this to be the case. But let’s face it, this is an ultra popular sci-fi property that’s being broadcast on Fox. I’m not getting my hopes up and neither should anyone else. [Editorial Note: DAMNIT Fox! Why did you kill Firefly. WHY!?!] [...]

I never really got into the whole Guitar Hero / Rock Band craze that has transcended the atypical gamer profile and allowed everyone to jump on board.

Perhaps this is because music was acting as a gateway to video games that could otherwise not be achieved on its own. Non-musicians can pick up an instrument and gain enjoyment despite their lack of talent. But really, regardless of music, there’s something appealing about picking up a guitar with buttons.

When I see the video for the Misa Digital Guitar, which is an instrument that is neither guitar or controller, it makes me want. Just want.

Electronic music cannot be played effectively with such constraints. In electronic music, the timbre (or colour) of the sound can be morphed in an infinite number of ways. For a guitar to accommodate this, the right hand needs more control than just plucking strings. You need to be able to control elements of the sound, such as sustain, pitch, filter cutoffs, contour or any other synthesizer parameter, in a way that has no physical constraints [...]

The Golden Globes had plenty of things going on last night… a drunk Ricky Gervais, some Jay Leno jokes, and an impromptu interview of Tobey Maguire via the red carpet pre-show.

Maguire confirmed he would not be involved with the next Spider-Man movie, which he said in response to a question asked by one of NBC’s corespondents.

You can sort of tell Maguire was a bit ajar after he was asked about the status of his involvement — having just weeks ago told news sources that the movie was still on track. [READ: Tobey Maguire Calms The Waters; Says ‘Spider-Man 4' Delay Is Normal] [...]

Those of you with ears should venture over to Social Blend — the podcast about social media sites like Mixx.com and other news headlines worth your valuable time — for a special Geeks of Doom episode.

I joined hosts Greg Davies (cGt2099) and Jay Fowler (SilentJay74) to chat about what a Spider-Man film reboot would entail as well as plenty of other nonsensical geek-related news.

It was so much fun we’re already plotting dates for a Social Blend of Doom II [...]

If you don’t know who Agent M is, you either aren’t on Twitter or you live under a rock. Agent M is the alias of Marvel.com Editor and blogger Ryan Penagos and today is his birthday.

We here at Geeks of Doom appreciate a chap like Ryan because he makes our job easier. He is the bridge that continuously connects the gap between fanboy and comic book creator. And as such, we wanted to go beyond the simple 140-character birthday well wishes.

Also, we needed an excuse to publish the bad ass “Agent M” 1991 Impel/Skybox “Marvel Trading Card” Photoshop Art I did several months ago.

Who else remembers these cards?

Check it out …

If you’re wondering why the studio decided to scrap the fourth installment of Spider-Man in an effort to reboot the franchise, look no further than Batman Forever as justification. Seriously, go back and look at the progression of these films and tell me they were consistently getting better and not worse. Let me list off some of the sins committed in no particular order: Green Goblin Suit of Armor, Emo Spider-Man, Hal Sparks cameo (why?), Macy Gray singing, Topher Grace as Venom, Venom being crammed into a movie about Sandman…

I’ll stop.

Honestly, you can’t blame the studio for wanting to reboot the whole franchise when the most frequent thing out of people’s mouths were how much they hated the last film. So if they plan on doing a reboot, here are some basic guidelines they need to follow if they want to be successful [...]

The 2-hour Chuck Season 3 premiere last night did astoundingly well for NBC — bringing in preliminary numbers of 7.7 million viewers, according to reports confirmed by show creator Josh Schwartz.

These numbers don’t actually include TiVo viewers since (if I’m not mistaken) those are delayed about a week. And of course the numbers on Hulu are notable, but I’m not sure how they factor into the prime time decision making. The point is, Chuck put eyeballs on the screen that the show hasn’t done since the first season.

“Thank you for all you have done to help get us to this moment. This season is for you!” said Schwartz on his Twitter feed moments before the episode hit the air.

From what I can tell, everyone involved seems willing to go the distance to make this show stick around. First, it was stars Zach Levi and Adam Baldwin making sandwiches for hardcore fans. This push apparently worked as Subway agreed to some nontraditional advertising that got the show a third season. [Read: NBC's Chuck Saved By Sandwiches, Not Fans] Then, just months ago NBC announced it was ordering an additional six episodes — bringing the total to 19 [...]

As a reminder to all fans, the third season of Chuck premieres on NBC at 8/9 EST with two (that’s right TWO) hours of Bartowski-Kung-Fu-filled fun.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Charles Bartowski and crew. At the end of season 2, Chuck’s long lost father (Scott Bakula) reemerged revealing that he had created ‘the Intersect,’ the technology that gave his son the entire database of top secret spy knowledge. Chuck (Zach Levi) then re-downloaded an upgraded version of ‘the Intersect’ into his mind. Oh also, Morgan announced he was moving to Hawaii, Ellie and Captain Awesome tied the knot and everyone’s love for Subway sandwiches was hinted to be getting much, much stronger.

If you can’t catch the premiere, remember to set those Tivos for the TWO hour opening episode, or catch it tomorrow on Hulu.

Check out a preview via NBC after the jump [...]

Superstar DC Comics artist and Wildstorm editor Jim Lee is giving away the original cover artwork of Green Lantern #50 to one lucky fan on micro-blogging site Twitter.

After DC Comics official blogger Alex Segura commented about the lack of followers he had on the service, Lee (along with Geoff Johns) undertook a mini campaign to get the word out to the Twitterverse. If Alex [@alex_segura] gets to 1,500 follows before Sunday at midnight (PST), Lee will send the yet-to-be-touched-up cover art to one lucky fan. Others will have a chance to snag some unreleased Batman sketches from the popular “Hush” story arc Lee did with writer Jeff Loeb.

So this is all great but you may be asking, Who exactly is Alex Segura? Well, the short answer is he’s the official DC Comics Blogger for DC’s The Source and online publicist [...]

As of late there’s been a trend among fans to give adored fictitious character their own personal Facebook page, complete with status updates and supporting character wall posts. For instance, College Humor did a Star Wars Facebook Status Updates feature that was pretty good. I’ve seen a few others but none that really made me physically laugh.

Leave it to a Doctor Who fan to make me eat my words. DeviantART user The Hellish Gnome photoshop’d a Facebook page for both The Doctor and his nemesis The Master that are littered with Whoniverse details.

I never realized how the Timelord regeneration would lend itself so well to a parody Facebook page [...]

The trailer for the fifth season of Doctor Who is online and features the first (technically second) glimpse into what the future holds for the Eleventh Doctor played by 26-year-old actor Matt Smith.

While there are flashes of Daleks, the most notable thing from the trailer may be the “Weeping Angels” from the popular episode “Blink,” which was written by Steven Moffat who is now the Doctor Who showrunner taking over from Russell T. Davies.

I know this isn’t the Doctor we’ve all known and loved for the past four years. But Matt Smith isn’t replacing him any more than a new puppy would be replacing a dearly departed family dog. Honestly, if you can look beyond the tweed jacket and bow tie, No. 11 seems to fill out the role quite nicely.

Give it a watch and let us know what you think of The Doctor’s new catchphrase…

While the Eleventh Doctor is on his way in to the Whoniverse, many are still lamenting on the departure of David Tennant, including the actor himself. Blogtor Who picked up the impromptu farewell speech he gave on the set of Doctor Who (video embedded below).

The spoiler-free clip shows a confetti cannon being shot off as Tennant holds back tears while professing his love for the work done over the past four years on the show.

The actor’s final appearance in The End of Time Part 2 aired in the UK last night and garnered an impressive 10.4 million sets of eyeballs, according to the BBC. The Finale aired on BBC America tonight for U.S viewers [...]

If there was ever any doubt that the writers of ABC’s sitcom Better Off Ted weren’t geeks, the latest episode shows proof that they most definitely are.

Episode 5 of the second season shows two scientists heading down to the basement of their building where they discover all the discarded robots that have been disassembled for parts. The scene has an intentional pause outlining the entire room which reveals a Dalek — the ruthless killing robotic drones from the Doctor Who television series.

I’ve embedded the click here below from Hulu, but for all of our International readers who can’t watch it, it happens about 9 minutes into the episode. (Or you can just oogle at the screenshot.)

If anyone else spots other scifi references, please point em out and I’ll give credit accordingly [...]

What better way to spend an afternoon indoors (beside watching Avatar) than to craft Doctor Who’s time-traveling vehicle the TARDIS using a gingerbread house kit from the local Wal-Mart?

Geeks Don and Katie decided to do just that while live streaming the whole process on Ustream. Rather than using any form of tutorial, they eyeballed the blue policebox from a photo.

Check out the video here below to see how they did it and click the thumbnail here at right to see a larger, full picture of the TARDIS gingerbread house [...]

Naysayers who said Avatar would be an utter flop were proven wrong on at least one front — the box office gross for the film’s opening weekend is an estimated $232.2 million.

That total is not even the full international release since the film has yet to be released in most of Asia. Director James Cameron has a very good track record for international box office openings, so don’t be surprised if the total grows significantly.

Now I’m not saying that just because Avatar will likely make its money back that it should be judged as a success. That will of course be a personal decision for everyone after they’ve seen it. It’s a decent indication, but not the only one [...]

Actress Brittany Murphy was pronounced dead after going into cardiac arrest early this morning. She was 32.

The Los Angeles City Fire Department reported she was dead upon arrival. No other details have been released about the cause of death.

Murphy starred in countless films such as Sin City, Girl Interrupted, Clueless, 8 Mile, and Just Married. She was also a notable voice actress on the Fox animated series King of the Hill. The actress most recently starred this year in the horror film Deadline [...]

Marvel Studios announced that Rene Russo (Lethal Weapon 3 &4, The Thomas Crown Affair) will join the cast of Thor, the upcoming movie based on their classic comic book character who is the Norse God of Thunder.

Russo will star as the Queen of Asgard, Frigga, mother of Thor and wife of Odin. No additional details have been announce about the role itself.

This is yet another addition to an already star-studded cast that includes Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Stuart Townsend (Fandral), Tadanobu Asano (Hogun), and Ray Stevenson (Volstagg). Kenneth Branagh will direct the film, which will be released on May 20, 2011 [...]