RPad.TV

RPadTV 3000 Episode 1: Chris Taylor

Kanoogi Founder and CEO Chris Taylor was kind enough to join me for the first episode of RPadTV 3000! Chris has entertained millions of gamers with his critically acclaimed strategy games in the Total Annihilation and Dungeon Siege series. His new company is making a strategy game called Intergalactic Space Empire and building a cloud platform that allows independent developers to realize their visions.

In addition to being an outstanding creative, Chris Taylor is a hilarious man that’s excellent to hang out with. Check out the video above as Chris and I talk about:

Coffee #677: Who’s the Best Supergroup?

The other day I was learning “Handle With Care” by The Traveling Wilburys and it got me thinking about supergroups. From Cream to Audioslave, supergroups have been a staple of music for decades. In today’s Coffee Talk, I’d love to hear who you think is the best supergroup. As for me, I’m (conveniently) going with The Traveling Wilburys.

Marcus Beer is on Twitch and You Should Watch Him

Millions of GameTrailers fans know Marcus Beer as the Annoyed Gamer. Thousands of people in the videogame business know Marcus Beer as “that angry yet dashing PR fellow.” I know him as my excellent friend Marcus, an intelligent and charming rogue that’s outstanding to have drinks with and even better for intensely nerdy conversation. You can be part of his nerdy conversations in his all-new, all-different Twitch stream, I Am Beer.

There are many reasons why you should tune in and watch Marcus Beer stream on Twitch, but if you need more convincing then keep on reading.

Totally Excited for Young Rock

Young Rock makes its debut on February 16 on NBC. The show revolves around a flashforward and three separate flashbacks on the life of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. In the flashforward, Johnson is running for President of the United States in the year 2032. The three flashbacks cover his life in Hawaii as a young boy, his high school years in Nashville, Tennessee, and his college life at the University of Miami.

As a mark for 80s pro-wrestling, the trailer has me amped for the show. Before I ever heard of The Rock, I was a fan of his father — “Soul Man” Rocky Johnson. The trailer features Rocky Johnson, as well as other pro-wrestling legends of the 80s, including Andre the Giant, the Iron Sheikh, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, The Wild Samoans, and Junkyard Dog. Seeing TV adaptations of these legends is simply awesome. Check them out in the Young Rock trailer below.

The WWE Network/Peacock Partnership is Great for WWE, Peacock, and Me

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and NBCUniversal have announced an exclusive U.S. partnership for WWE Network and Peacock. The two companies have already collaborated with a limited amount of content on the Peacock streaming service. This deal — rumored to be $1-billion over five years — greatly expands on the partnership. For U.S. customers, WWE Network becomes a new part of the Peacock streaming service starting March 18, 2021.

At a glance, the deal seems like a huge win for everyone involved. I’m excited by the potential of the partnership for both WWE Network and Peacock. As a self-absorbed writer, I’m also excited for what it means for me. Using the immortal words of the Degeneration-X theme song, read on as I “break it down!”

Five Thoughts on Batman: Soul of the Dragon

Batman: Soul of the Dragon is a fantastic animated movie with a wonderfully unique tone. Going into it, I knew that the movie would focus on one of Batman’s mentors (O-Sensei) and his fellow students. However, I was not expecting its incredible 70s tone at all. The movie is a wonderful mix of great action, strong storytelling, and excellent character development.

In short, I highly recommend watching Batman: Soul of the Dragon. If you’re not convinced, here are five random thoughts on the movie. [Put on your spoiler cowl!]

10 Thoughts on Cobra Kai Season 3

2021 is off to a fantastic start thanks to Cobra Kai Season 3. Going into the new season, I was mildly concerned since some of the reviews were more negative than critiques of the first two seasons. I was afraid that the third season of Cobra Kai would be as bad as the third Karate Kid movie. Thankfully, the concern was unwarranted.

Cobra Kai Season 3 was just as entertaining as the previous seasons. It’s certainly not award-winning television by any means, but the show absolutely succeeds in delivering big, dumb, and nostalgic fun. The hooks are clever enough to keep you interested, while the overall tone is ridiculous and fluffy enough to make the show infinitely rewatchable. If you enjoyed the first two seasons of the show then it’s highly likely that you’ll enjoy the third.

After watching each episode twice, here are ten random thoughts on Cobra Kai Season 3 using the tried and true RPadTV binary system. Warning: spoiler punches will be fast and furious.

Best Game of 2020: Final Fantasy VII Remake

Many people became hardcore gamers in 2020 due to ~~BOSH~~ COVID-19. With many parts of the world on lockdown, playing games was a great way to be entertained, pass the time, and retain a bit of sanity. Thankfully, there were tons of great games to play. For me, the best game of 2020 was Final Fantasy Remake.

Before I get into why FFVII Remake was my choice for best game of 2020, let’s discuss an honorable mention. I’m super late to the party, but I’ve been enjoying a little bit of Hades recently and aim to play more of it in 2021. This action-RPG is made by one of my favorite independent studios, the outstanding Supergiant Games, and is the ultimate realization of the company’s style. It’s a delightful game with thoughtful storytelling that’s perfect for long sessions and equally excellent for when you want to slay a bunch of baddies for a few minutes. Well done Supergiant!

Best Movie of 2020: Pixar Soul

2020 was a strange year for movies due to ~~BOSH~~ COVID-19. Many releases were delayed…and delayed again, with some major releases being pushed to 2021. As such, I didn’t see as many movies as I normally would because there were fewer releases. Going into Christmas, there weren’t any movies that truly captivated me.

When I started thinking about this article, Palm Springs was at the top of my list. It’s a clever romcom that puts a nice twist on time paradox hijinx. The writing is witty, the performances are strong, and it’s a charming film…but it didn’t feel like it should be anyone’s choice for the best movie of 2020.

The Best TV Show of 2020

2019 was an amazing year for nerd television. It had the debut of The Mandalorian and The Boys, as well as all-new series of The Dark Crystal and Watchmen. Could 2020 match up to such an incredible year? Of course not, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t fantastic shows. As for me, one series stood out as the best TV show of 2020: Ted Lasso.

For the uninitiated, Ted Lasso is a sitcom about an American football coach that goes to England to coach real football. It was based on a pair of NBC Sports sketches starring Jason Sudeikis. Bill Lawrence (Scrubs), Sudeikis, Joe Kelly, and Brendan Hunt made some significant changes to the character and created something magical. Not only was Ted Lasso the best TV show of 2020 for me, it was also one of the biggest surprises of the year. Here’s why.