Tom Baker as the next Doctor? Why and how this should happen.

Who should replace Peter Capladi as The Doctor?  This has been the question since the announcement of the actors pending departure alongside show runner Steven Moffat in January.  

If you are following us on our social media feeds or via cangeek.com then you know this is a question we have been posing each day for about a week now.   From Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Campbell to Amanda Tapping and Barak Obama we've been having some fun as we suggest the various realistic and unrealistic possibilities.  

However yesterday there was a revelation of sorts, with the closure of Steven Moffat's tenure as show runner for Doctor Who wouldn't it be nice if they also concluded the story arc created during The Day Of The Doctor?  If even for a short time bring back The Curator, bring back Tom Baker!  

After all, thanks to Mr. Moffat the character of The Curator is now canon.

When The Day Of The Doctor aired on November 23rd 2013, fans were introduced to a new world of possibilities with a story arc that has, in my opinion yet to be concluded.  We finally witnessed the horrors of the last great time war, and with the introduction of John Hurt as The War Doctor we also learned that even the greatest of heroes is capable of faltering.

And with Matt Smith's announcement in June of that same year that he would be leaving the series at the conclusion of the Christmas special, we were introduced to the furious eyebrows of the thirteenth doctor - Peter Capaldi! 

With all the Doctors banding together there would be one clear outcome - Gallifrey Falls No More!

The final few minutes of the fiftieth anniversary special would also be monumental and would lay the foundation for the return of previous doctor who actors when Smiths eleventh doctor would come face to face with Tom Baker as The Curator!  During their exchange of dialogue the curator would explain to the doctor that in the years to come he might find himself revisiting a face or two, but only the old favorites.

And with Capaldi recently confirming on the BBC's Graham Norton show that he has already filmed his regeneration sequence the internet is on fire with speculation that the Scottish actor might be leaving early into series ten with a regeneration brought about by an encounter with the Mondasian Cybermen, so what about this years Christmas special?

Steven Moffat has confirmed that he will helm the series until the conclusion of this years special, so will the next doctor begin his journeys under Moffat or will we see Capaldis doctor come full circle and exit the series more or less were he began?

The RadioTimes recently suggested that Capaldi would join forces with the first doctor (played by David Bradley) during the holiday special to confront the Cybermen and that this encounter would lead to Capaldis regeneration. 

What if however this were to happen much earlier on in series ten?  What if The first and the Thirteenth doctors encountered the Cybermen before joining forces in the defense of Gallifrey, a battle that would lead to the current doctors next regeneration - The Curator!

The Christmas special would be an ideal opportunity to tell the story of how Tom Bakers Curator came by the painting of "Gallifrey Falls No More" and would be a perfect gift to longtime fans before creating a scenario for another regeneration sequence into whomever new show runner Chris Chibnall selects.

One can only hope.....

One thing is for sure, with the return of both Michelle Gomez and John Simm, the reintroduction of the Mondasian Cybermen, rumors of David Bradley reprising his role as the first doctor, and the departure of both Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi, the possibilities are endless over the next few months.

Its a good time to be a Whovian!!!

Thanks for reading, please remember to follow us at CanGeek.com. 

Memories are the greatest gift.

Today is April the 4th, 2017 and its my birthday.  Birthdays were once important to me, as a child I looked forward to them, they usually involved a day off school, cake & ice cream, and some really cool gifts.  

As a child I loved my birthday but I didn't stop to consider that my birthday also represented the turning of a page, the beginning of a new year, the clock ticking away the hours and minutes and seconds of my life.

As important as a birthday was to me it seemed to be twice as important to my father, Dad was always concerned about his children and their enjoyment of special occasions.  My Dad was born in 1931, two years into what history calls The Great Depression and he truly understood what it meant to be poor.  

The youngest of four children my father grew up without his father, my grandfather had been career military and served in Europe during World War One.  During a military operation my grandfather took shrapnel to his head and all through he surprisingly survived his service in the British military was at an end.  In 1933 my grandfather would pass away due to complications brought on by this injury, my father was two years old and would have no sustainable memory of his father.

My widowed grandmother would fight to support her children to the best of her abilities but there would be no room for unnecessary expenses, no toys or candy when real food and clothing were obviously much more important.

These childhood experiences helped shape the man my Dad would become, and the lessons he would pass onto his three children, it would have an impact on his need to ensure that, if at all possible, his children wanted for as little as necessary.  

Dad would also strive to teach us the value of things, needs vs wants, and that having the latest and greatest board game or video game did not equal a live or die scenario - sooner or later you would most likely get it.  Sadly however sometimes it takes children a long time to learn the most important lessons in life.

After a courageous fifteen month fight we lost my father to terminal bladder cancer on June 29th 2016, this is the first birthday I have celebrated without him.  

My father spent the last five weeks of his life in palliative care at a local hospital, and on the day he departed this existence I was the one to find him, I was the one to break the news to my Mother, My Brother and my Sister, I will live with that memory for the remainder of my days.

I don't say this to complain, somehow it feels right that it was me to find Dad, but it has taught me the importance of making each moment and each memory count - something my father had tried to teach me for years.

Today as I've celebrated my birthday I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my Dad and how special he made each and every occasion for his family.  I have thought of both the good times and the bad and how I would not be the person I am today if not for his loving influence in my life.

I love you Dad, I'm sorry it took me this long to learn the lessons you sought to teach me throughout the years, but I am learning them now and I miss you.

Thanks for reading.

Scott - CanGeek.com

This blog is dedicated to all the husbands and wives, sons and daughters who have lost a loved one.  They may be absent but will never be gone so long as they live within your heart  

Nintendo to re-release Gameboy Advanced

Coming off the success of this past holiday season which saw the release of the NES classic and global sales in excess of $1.5 million, Nintendo confirmed on Friday the release of the Game Boy advanced special edition.

This new console is expected to provide a library of classics including both Pokemon Ruby & Pokemon Fire Red, Metroid Fusion, Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap and Mario Kart: Super Circuit.

Although Nintendo was reluctant to discuss a price point at the time of their announcement, it is expected that this retro re-release will enter the market with an MSRP of roughly $199.99 U.S.D 

This announcement was greeted with resounding cries of joy from both game collectors and those in attendance who were looking to reclaim a small amount of their lost childhoods!

The Game Boy Advanced Special Edition is scheduled to hit store shelves April 1st, 2018!

Happy April Fools Day everyone from your friends and fellow gamers at CanGeek

Assassins Creed: the CanGeek Review

Movies based on video games are usually notoriously awful, the complex backstories developed for most games just don't transfer well to the silver screen.

If you have any doubt about this then you need not look further than Wing Commander, Max Payne, Street Fighter, Double Dragon, or DOOM.  All of these titles offered an enjoyable game play experience, but none of them provided a satisfying viewing experience.

However having said that I keep coming back for more, because were there have been some truly repulsive ports to the big screen there have also been some fantastic attempts made, Mortal Kombat was never going to win an Oscar but it was still a lot of fun to watch!  

So what about the Assassins Creed movie?

Developed by Ubisoft, Assassins Creed is a series that has done an outstanding job of creating a lavish story, a story depicting a centuries old battle between the Knights Templar and the Assassins.

The Templar's seek to bring peace to humanity through control, this will be accomplished utilizing The Animus as a means to an end.  The Animus is a machine which allows a person to relive the memories of their blood ancestors through a virtual reality experience.  With this technology a mega-corporation known as Abstergo, which is the public face of the Knights Templar, secretly abducts individuals who are known to be descendants of long dead Assassins.

These individuals are then forced to relive moments from their ancestors lives as the Templar's search for clues which will lead them to the Pieces Of Eden.  The Pieces Of Eden are artifacts believed to hold great power, power which will give the Knights Templar the ability to strip away humanities freewill.

For the abducted over exposure to the Animus has several side effects including dementia, insanity, and brain damage, but it also causes a bleeding effect which bestows the skills and abilities of the users ancestor upon them - newly awoken Assassins!  Like their long dead ancestors these Assassins seek to protect our right to freewill at the cost of their own lives.

With a story that has spanned across multiple consoles and game installments could a single movie hope to do this franchise justice?  No but it was a good start!

With a cast which included Michael Fassbender, Jeremy Irons, and Marion Cotillard, the Assassins Creed movie followed the story of Callum Lynch, a death row convict who is executed only to wake up days later as a guest of the Abstergo corporation.

Lynch is manipulated into reliving the events of his ancestors life through the Animus while the Templar search for the apple of Eden, an artifact that his ancestor Aguilar is known to have had at one time. Much like the peaces of Eden the Templar's believe the apple of Eden holds the secret to our control.

Although the cast and crew did a decent job of translating the basic backstory from game to film its obvious that we should expect at least one or two sequels to fill in the blanks in the near future.

With only two real complaints, the unnecessary use of subtitles and the animus fight scenes which saw Fassbender being thrown around like the feather in the opening sequence of Forrest Gump, The Assassins Creed film is a good start and worth watching at least once.

Have you seen this movie yet?  Do you agree or disagree with us?  Let us know in the comments below and remember to follow us at cangeek.com.

Thanks for reading!

Game Of thrones: length of eight is bad news for fans

It might be winter here in Canada but if your like us then it's felt like an eternal drought waiting for the next season of Game Of Thrones.

However with the release of the season seven teaser last week it seemed like things were finally looking up, sadly though we've now learned that this is going to be one short winter!

While taking part in a panel hosted by Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner at this years South by Southwest festival, Show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss confirmed that season eight will be comprised of six episodes.

Benoff stated:

"It's only going to be six episodes for the final season, from the beginning we’ve wanted to tell a 70-hour movie. It will turn out to be a 73-hour movie, but it’s stayed relatively the same of having the beginning, middle and now we’re coming to the end. It would have been really tough if we lost any core cast members along the way, I’m very happy we’ve kept everyone and we get to finish it the way we want to.”

With thirteen episodes remaining to wrap up the hit HBO series we can't help but wonder if this will give them enough time and with the arrival of The Great War are any fan favorites truly safe in the seven kingdoms?

Let us know in the comments who you think will reign from the iron throne once the dust has settled on season eight, and remember to follow us at CanGeek.com.

Thanks for reading.

Zoombies - so bad it was good!

Zombie monkeys???

Some movies and television shows are like a train wreck, you know you shouldn't be watching but you just can't help yourself.  After all if it wasn't for the truly awful films how would you know what a good film looked like?  This past weekend I was tasked with watching one such film, the 2016 release Zoombies!   

Directed by Glenn Miller, Zoombies stars Kim Nielsen, LaLa Nestor, Marcus Anderson, Ione Butler along with a series of other actors you'll most likely never here of again.

The Eden Wildlife Zoo, a refuge for endanger animals is preparing to open to the general public, however some of its Monkeys have contracted an undetermined virus.  When one of these monkeys suffers cardiac arrest during treatment the Zoo's veterinarian administers a forbidden drug known as intracardiac epinephrine in an attempt to save the animals life.   

The results prove fatal as the monkeys eyes turn a ghostly white and its skin becomes dark and dirty looking.  The monkey spreads its now highly contagious virus to the other animals in the room, and with their newly discovered taste for human flesh they turn on and kill the veterinary staff.

Once escaping the confines of the animal clinic the monkeys quickly spread their disease to the Zoo's other occupants before turning on this sanctuary's employees and visiting interns.

Even though this film represents two hours of my life which I can never reclaim it was still a strangely satisfying experience and with IMDB giving it a score of 3.4 out of 10 there is no mistaking the fact that this film is truly awful - But it's worth watching at least once!

So pop some popcorn, mix a drink and pick a day where there is absolutely nothing worth watching on television and then load up a copy of Zoombies!

We'd love to hear what truly horrible films you've endured, the ones you can never forget regardless of how hard you try!  Comment below or head over to one of our social media feeds via CanGeek.com to let us know.

Thanks for reading.

   

Can we really blame Ben Affleck for being disenchanted with the DC Extended Universe if fans feel the same way?

At some point in each persons life they can't help but wonder what it would be like to be the Batman?  Unlike the rest of us Ben Affleck can actually say he knows.

Four years ago Affleck was riding high with both a string of successful films behind him & the dark knights cape and cowl in front of him.  Although many fans voiced their concerns and displeasure via social media it was a done deal, Ben Affleck would be the next Batman. 

Warner Brothers and DC where looking to actively compete with Disney owned Marvel Comics for that all important box office revenue by jump starting the DC Extended Universe, and the Warner Brothers plan began with the 2013 release Man Of Steel.

Man Of Steel would tell the story of a much different Clark Kent, someone who had no desire to be a hero, someone who would be forced into the light when a vengeful General Zod threatened to destroy the Earth.

Fast forward three years to the 2016 release of Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice and we would be introduced to Ben Affleck as a xenophobic and resentful Bruce Wayne.

Having witnessed first hand the destructive power Superman was capable of, Wayne would make it his mission to end the Kryptonian before humanity was forced to pay the ultimate price.  In turn Clark Kent, who had now accepted his role as humanities hero, would make it his mission to bring the Gotham City vigilante to justice once and for all.

With the inclusion of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash as filler, the climax of the film would be a more or less one-sided battle designed as a lead in to a yet to be released Justice League film and spin off titles for each individual character.

Warner Brothers had big plans however as the numbers came in it would be obvious that fans did not respond kindly to Batman V Superman.

Affleck's second outing as The Dark Knight would be a cameo five months later in the Suicide Squad, however not before Warner Brothers ordered a selection of re-shoots to address what they viewed as the missed opportunities of Snyder's Batman V Superman.

Unfortunately the numbers would once again reflect that fans had receive Suicide Squad with mixed reviews.

With both the Wonder Woman and Justice League films on the horizon things weren't looking good, however the decision was made to produce a stand alone Batman film with Affleck once again in the lead as both the star and the director.

However it was recently announced that Matt Reeves would take over the directors chair amid rumors that Affleck neither wanted to direct nor star in the film. 

Honestly who can blame him?  In a genre that has seen Marvel virtually unopposed since the release of Iron Man in 2008 its sadly conceivable that the creation of the DC Extended Universe came far to late and will be a difficult pill for consumers to swallow.

What we often forget is that in the public eye an actor is only as valuable as their most recent success, and with two failed outings in the cape and cowl already under his utility belt can we really blame this Oscar winner for potentially wanting out?

Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and remember to follow us at CanGeek.com .