Niche Magazine Blog: tv

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Sunday, 18 September 2016

Niche TV: Go 8 Bit

This month is about to get crazy for geeky TV; Marvel has Agents of SHIELD Season 4 on TV and Luke Cage for Netflix, Red Dwarf comes back to Dave, the new season of Star Wars: Rebels hits Disney XD and The Walking Dead is on the horizon (technically next month)... and I'm sure I'm missing some. You may not have noticed that a new video game gameshow (?) has been airing on Dave. Hosted by Dara O'Briain the 3^rd episode aired Monday 19^th September. Having got caught up I've realised this is something I want to share.

Photo: UKTV

Two resident team captains are joined by (possible) celebrities, as they go head to head playing some of their favourite games. Each contestant gets their own 8 bit style avatar complete with 3 letter nameplate. The audience vote on who they think will win each challenge and this also determines the amount of points up for grabs.

The nostalgia factor is strong with this one, the first episode featured Tetris, Chucky Egg, and a particularly tense match of Tekken... things got more modern with a round of Star Wars: Battlefront and then ended with a very unique take on Bust-a-Move.

I have to commend the way the show handles gaming, treating it as a legitimate hobby rather than the domain of “lonely nerds”. However I worry this may rely on the quali.... attitude of the celebrity guests, but overall there's a respectful and positive attitude.

The humour won't be to everyone's taste, although it is reminiscent of a few gaming nights I've shared with friends, there is some adult humour such as a tangent regarding chicken bumginas... I said “adult” humour, not “grown up”.

The whole thing is refreshing and entertaining. I haven't seen a gaming show on TV in an age, and Go 8 Bit feels like a spiritual successor to classic GamesMaster. If that isn't reason enough to give it a try I don't know what is.

For an extra challenge, see how many gaming references you can spot in the intro!

If you've missed the first few episodes try UKTV PLAY for on demand content from Dave.

Thursday, 21 July 2016

The Problem with The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory (TBBT) stirs mixed feelings in the geek community. Is it beacon of geek culture amongst all the mainstream sitcoms? Or is it a cheap exploitation of an unfair stereotype?

On one hand, the characters in TBBT may be ones that I can identify with but it seems geeks are still still portrayed as weird or pathetic outsiders. Alternatively, TBBT could be a perfect depiction of an imperfect world, realistic interpretation of flawed humans. Geek or not these characters and the situations they get into could apply to anybody, humans are known to have different hobbies, obsessions, quirks, social anxieties etc. Maybe this show is just one that isn’t afraid to present “adulthood” just how it is, nobody knows what they’re doing and these awkward, dorky archetypes don’t only occur in geekdom. Even trendy people say stupid stuff. The Big Bang Theory has been called the new “Friends”, a long running sitcom that defines a generation, this just happens to be a different group of friends.

For the majority of the series Howard is dependent on his mother and later his wife (who also earns more than he does)… this isn’t because he’s a stereotype of his religion or of his geeky lifestyle… it’s because he’s human, you only need to watch reality TV to see this isn’t exclusively geek. You can apply this to other characters too; Raj’s inability to speak to women, Sheldon’s pedantic superiority. Watch other sitcoms and you’ll probably see the same character traits.

In fact the program might make more sense if you don’t get hung up on the “geek” label, the fact that it is a part of the show and that some jokes may be a little close to home for some viewers do mean that the show will always divide the community. However it is completely possible that the show’s creators don’t have the same lofty interpretation.

One reason I have such a hard time suggesting the show uses damaging stereotypes is that I’ve known these people… I’d have to think back a way (to school or college) but I knew a Sheldon, a Howard, and a Raj... that might have left me being a Leonard but in truth I share something with each of these characters. It’s hard to call them unrealistic or unfair when I grew up with them. The portrayal of Penny is probably the more damaging stereotype, at least in the majority of episodes.

Where I tend to have a problem is how the show handles the geeky hobbies, I haven’t seen one episode that shows cosplay in a positive light, it’s still apparently unbelievable that there are girls in a comic book shop and one episode compares D&D to a night in Vegas and attempts to suggest that D&D is the deviant option when as far as I know it is associated with significantly less organised crime, prostitution and drugs, but maybe I’m doing it wrong.

I generally enjoy the show despite a few other niggles about American comedy having to explain the joke and a tendency to reuse the same material. There are still cringeworthy moments, but for the most part I can look past them, I just don’t think this is something I’ll still be watching in ten years’ time.

Tuesday, 14 June 2016

Hull Comic Con This Weekend

Luna-Chan and Dante will be in Hull this weekend for Hull Comic Con

Find out more on their event page here

Thursday, 2 June 2016

Scunthorpe Comic Con THIS WEEKEND

This weekend we will be at Sunthorpe Comic Con

More Info on the event here

Tuesday, 17 May 2016

The Niche: Treat Your Geek search for tallent!

Do you have something that you think should be shared with the world?

Do you know someone who has done somethng in the geek world that is just too cool to keep quiet?

Let us know at info@nicheonline.co.uk