Links and Updates

Christmas is just around the corner, and I still haven't done any shopping. For anyone. I'm usually pretty good with keeping on top of the Christmas overload, but this year I haven't even found time to put up a Christmas tree. So allow me to keep my head buried in the sand by pointing you toward various trailers and bits of news instead.

After an extremely long wait, the first trailer for the Sense8 Christmas Special has been released:

I'm sure you'll notice something odd in the otherwise familiar cast line-up – Capheus has been replaced with a new actor. I'm surprised at how devastated I am, since Capheus is my favourite character and very much the heart of the cluster, played with so much sincerity and sweetness by Aml Ameen. Whatever the reason for the recasting, it's dampened my enthusiasm for the forthcoming season (and let's face it, an abrupt actor change doesn't bode well for the production).

Cross your fingers everyone, because Sense8 deserves to be a success, and it was already something of a miracle that it was renewed for a second season out of a proposed five. But if worst comes to worst, remember that the first season is a) excellent, and b) reasonably self-contained.

I took a trip down memory lane and watched The Fifth Element yesterday, which naturally led me to take another look at the trailer for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets – Luc Besson's first return to science-fiction space opera since 1997. There are a lot of similar looking visuals, but despite knowing nothing about the graphic novel on which it's based I have to admit I'm intrigued.

And though you've probably already seen it a hundred or so times, here's an excuse to watch the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 trailer once again.

I'm a casual viewer of Marvel films; in fact I've only ever seen two of them on the big-screen – but the combination of Baby Groot and those gorgeous visuals are nearly outweighing the pretty glaring absence of any dialogue from Gamora.

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It's nearing the end of the year which means it's time for Sleepy Skunk's annual trailer mash-up. As usual it's exhilarating and inspiring and beautifully edited ... but I gotta admit it's not quite as uplifting as previous years; though I expect that has much to do with the quality of this year's films, as well as the grim tone that 2016 has taken. Still, it's always something I look forward to:

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I while ago I discovered KissCartoons, a site where all the old cartoons of my childhood have been archived. I thought it was the most delightful thing I could ever find on the internet ... until I found this site. Here are all the adventure games I played on our family's PC back in the late Eighties/early Nineties; free to play and easy to download.

King's Quest! Space Quest! Laura Bow! Gabriel Knight! The Hugo trilogy! Eagle Eye Mysteries! Monkey Island! Mixed Up Mother Goose! Cosmo! Commander Keen! Monster Bash! Jill of the Jungle! Lemmings!

I have to confess to you: I was in tears of joy. Some of these games were fundamental parts of my childhood – in fact I credit Roberta Williams's King's Quest series for my life-long love of fantasy and fairy tales. So if you don't see many new posts in the coming weeks, it's bound to be because I've slipped back into a cloud of nostalgia and pixelated landscapes.

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And now – I'm off to Rogue One! Hopefully I'll have a review up by this time tomorrow.