The Guild Season Three Webseries Review
“The expansion to our game is coming out,” Codex/Cyd Sherman explains in her video blog. “New continent, new powers. Most importantly, new character hair styles. I’m hoping it will help heal some of the wounds in the Guild. Make us focus on what matters. It’s about the game, not each other. Dumb humans.”
Thus begins the third season of the highly-successful webseries, The Guild, which focuses on a group of World-of-Warcraft-style online gamers who have trouble adapting to the real world. While sitcom has always had its fair share of Internet-living exploration—each episode, for instance, opens with Codex recording an entry for her blog—it’s the oddball assortment of characters and their coping with the outside world that truly elevates the webseries to a higher-level of enjoyable entertainment.
At the end of the previous season, their real lives had been turned upside down: Tinkerbella (Amy Okudo) had used her feminine mystique on Bladezz (Vincent Caso), leading to the sexually-aroused male to shower her with expensive gifts; when Tinkerbella eventually rejected his advances, he retaliated by erasing her online avatar. Zaboo (Sandeep Parikh), meanwhile, discovered a new love interest after continually being spurned by Codex (Felicia Day), causing unexpected jealousy in Codex. And Vork (Jeff Lewis) had his leadership questioned when Clara (Robin Thorsen) continually, as well as anonymously, butchered his online character after he refused to grant her a magic orb. With such upheaval in their personal lives, it’s no wonder Codex hoped for a return to normalcy within the fantasy online world in which they routinely gather.
Lost: The Odyssey of Desmond Hume
The ABC drama Lost has paid homage to numerous science-fiction staples of the past, including Star Wars and Back to the Future, but the series has also peppered its numerous storylines with references to other classic works from the philosophical to the spiritual. In the case of Desmond Hume, however, it appears that his character development has coincided with a mythic persona from Greek mythology, Odysseus (also known as Ulysses), and mirrors the “hero’s journey” that American writer Joseph Campbell proposed in his 1949 book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
The Odyssey by Homer tells the story of Odysseus’ ten-year journey following the battle of Troy to get back to his wife, facing many trials along the way. The name of his wife was the same as Desmond Hume’s great love, Penelope. While Odysseus had to deal with shipwrecks, a Cyclops, the witch-goddess Circe, conversations with dead people and both the Scylla and Charybdis, Desmond had his fair share of obstacles to overcome as well. He also experienced a shipwreck, for instance, and while Odysseus spent seven years of captivity on the island Ogygia at the hands of the sea nymph Calypso, Desmond served a similar three-year sentence on Lost Island pushing a button every 108 minutes.
BBT: Boys, Toys and Time Machines
Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hoftstadter, as well as their friends Howard Wolowitz and Raj Koothrappali, certainly love their toys. The Big Bang Theory group of nerdy-scientists have filled their apartment with comic books, action figures and classic sci-fi replicas, creating a decorum that would make any geek envious. While some may argue that such obsessions appear childish and immature, the items actually add to the character’s charm and appeal. Still, they are distinct to a particular lifestyle, or so the season one episode of the CBS sitcom, entitled “The Nerdvana Annihilation,” sets out to explore.
Leonard is amazed that someone is auctioning off what he assumes is a miniature time machine from the 1960 movie, The Time Machine, and that no one has bid on it. The opening offer is $800 which, as it turns out, was placed by Leonard. “It was a spur of the moment thing,” he says to the others. “I figured it would go for thousands and I just wanted to be a part of it.” As the clock ticks down and no other bids appear, the realization hits Leonard that he is about to spend $800 that he does not have. Howard then suggests that they each throw in $200 and take turns displaying at their homes. “A time-share time machine,” Raj remarks as they all agree to the proposal.
ALTERNA-TV.COM: MARCH 2010
During the month of March, alterna-tv.com will continue to post three new articles every Monday, including:
--New reviews of an original online webseries.
--Examinations of the ABC drama Lost, whether its a review of a previous season, fleshing out popular theories from the past or exploring one of the many influences of the series.
--Recaps of classic episodes of the CBS sitcom, The Big Bang Theory.
Take the time to bookmark alterna-tv.com to your list of favorite websites, or sign up for our RSS Feed. Either way, don’t miss out on future articles as alterna-tv.com continues to build its current content and evolves into a one-stop information center for quality television and new media. Thanks for visiting!
ADDITIONAL NEW AND RECENT ARTICLES ON ALTERNA-TV.COM:
Dollhouse Episode Twelve: Omega The Dollhouse, with Paul Ballard’s assistance, attempt to rescue Echo from the rogue-active Alpha, who has plans for her.
The Big Bang Theory: How to Make Friends and Annoy People Recap of the season two episode of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, “The Friendship Algorithm,” in which Sheldon attempts to befriend the obnoxious Barry Kripke.
Dollhouse and Rossum's Universal Robots Exploration of the Joss Whedon drama Dollhouse and the 1920 Czech play Rossum’s Universal Robots, from which the Rossum Corporation took its name.
Drunk History and 'Great and Telling Tales' Webseries Review History takes a different and amusing turn in these two original webseries offered by Funny Or Die and the History Channel.
Lost Season Five: The Incident Review of the fifth season of the ABC drama Lost with emphasis on the final episode and its plot to change the future.
The Videomakers Webseries Review Review of the webseries created by documentary video producer Walter Gottlieb that spoofs the non-fiction television industry.
Main articles are updated every Monday.
