It’s that time of year. Time to crack open your wallets for that very special nerd in your life. Need some ideas? We’ve got some. Here’s some of our writers picks for this years gifts to get.

Citizen-Bot’s Pick:
Nintendo 3DS Bundle with Zelda: Ocarina of Time
$170

Dear Santa,

I’ve been a very good robot this year and kept my gears oiled and servos polished (but not too much, cuz MamaBot says polishing it too much will make your optic relays fail), so what I really want is a Nintendo 3DS Bundle with Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

I had a hard time settling on just this one gift. This year we have $49 Roku boxes (which I highly recommend), Star Wars: The Old Republic (which is also amazing), Kindle Fire, etc, but I settled on this as the ultimate geek gift this holiday, and here’s why: First, look at those 3DS systems. The awesome black color with the gold engraving-style print on it is so cool looking. But it’s also the bundle, and who doesn’t want their new system to come with a guaranteed great game? I played this at Comic-Con (I also played it on my N64 in 2000, but that’s a different story), and it is awesome. As much as I think the 3D is gimmicky, the gameplay on this is great– actually using the game system to aim your hookshot and arrows is fun and challenging at the same time. I’ve waited to buy a DS until more games came out (and more have!!! Mario, MarioKart, StarFox are all amazing) and so now is the logical time to buy. And with so many people probably going to take the 3DS plunge this year (almost by default since nothing else new is out there), the critical mass is going to swell for all of the opportunities to play games via their social networking/geo-locational tools. Especially since I also fully expect to get Zelda: Skyward Sword for Christmas, having the 3DS to pass around while taking turns on the Wii will be important. Great system, Great design, Great game.

Kill-tacular-tron’s Pick:
Syma S107 Helicopter
Amazon.com $20

Always wanted to fly an RC helicopter but couldn’t afford it? Or hell, you were just too afraid to bust it into a million pieces due to the overcomplicated controls? This copter may be for you. With three channels, you handle throttle, forward / backward tilt and rotating left and right. The trick to the simplicity is the two propellers spinning in oppisite directions. This causes a gyro affect that keeps your copter super stable. Very easy to fly and durable, plus a helluva deal.

More-than-a-sex-machine’s Pick:
ALL STAR SUPERMAN: THE ABSOLUTE EDITION by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
Amazon.com $99.99

For my money, not only the best Superman story of all time (which, to be fair, is kinda like being the cleanest whore at the Bunny Ranch), but also one of the best superhero comics of the last decade, reissued here in well-deserved Absolute Edition format. Grant Morrison breathed new life into the character by not only giving him new powers, but also an expiration date. The result was an iconically potent, yet pleasantly human answer to the question of “What Would Superman Do if he had 12 issues left to live?”, perfect for both comic book novice and seasoned superhero nerd, and wonderfully illustrated by Frank Quitely, whose art dazzles even more in this gloriously oversized format.

There’s really nothing to add to any of this, except to ignore the pricetag, and all that crap about “waah, times are hard, I can’t afford it”, and buy this book. See that woman over there? The one who gave birth to you, raised you, fed you from her once firm breasts, and gave up her dreams of finishing med school so she could afford to buy you comics and Star Wars toys and other crap that decades later you still find yourself obsessing over? Did you really think there was nothing else she could do for you? Well, you were wrong. She has a kidney that people will pay good money for. Go sell that kidney and buy this for the geek in your family. And then buy another for me.

Proletaria-Tron’s Pick:
Amazon Kindle
Amazon.com $79

Give someone a Kindle this year, they are cheap enough now that at least one person on your list should get on. Don’t give me any shit about “I like the feel/smell/weight of a real book.” Yes I know books are great. However, I don’t like lugging around a hardback or carrying multiple books at once. Kindle makes life less cluttered and easy and with so many free or cheap books there is no reason to not give one as a Christmas gift. People need to read damnit! Facilitate it!

Scarlett Robotica’s Pick:
Kindle Keyboard
Amazon.com $139.00

While several options for Amazon’s Kindle now exist, I thought I would share the version I own, and the one I’d recommend to anyone. It has a full keyboard that allows you to make notes throughout the text, and it makes searches easier. I’m the type of person who gets an adrenaline rush just by entering a bookstore, so took me a while to jump on the digital book bandwagon. Still, I can’t ignore the benefits of owning a Kindle. If I finish the first book in a series and can’t wait to read the next one, I can download it instantly via Wi-Fi. No waiting for the bookstore to open or for Amazon to deliver it to me. No waiting lists at the library. It’s in my hands instantly. Plus, I’ve run out of bookshelf space, so this allows me to still own all the books I want without worrying about where to place the physical copies. I still read paper books just as often as I did before, but having a Kindle is so convenient, and it reduces book weight in my luggage when I travel, too. Buy one for yourself and for any booklovers you know this holiday season.

Swank-mo-tron’s Pick:
Lego Star Wars III
Amazon.com $20

I was pretty sure I was done with this franchise. Sure, it’s Star Wars, but I felt like I’d had my fill of Lego Star Wars games. Lego Star Wars III, though, takes the entire franchise up a notch. There are new puzzles, character types, and graphics that make it a cut above the other two games. It’s fun and really gave the entire series a shot in the arm. This game takes place during The Clone Wars, as well, so we’re able to play characters from the TV show and replay some of our favorite arcs. My favorite episode is represented as well, Duel of the Droids, and it’s a lot of fun to play. I picked it up on PS3 (which is also against the grain for me, I always get Wii versions) and found that it was just as much of a blast. And I got to be Ahsoka! (They had her two saber technique down perfectly.)

I don’t often play video games, but playing this with my son, I’m going to spend a lot of time back in the world of Lego Star Wars and it would be a perfect Christmas find for any adult-kid combo.

And for $20 who could argue?

Vagatron’s Pick:
LevelUp Icon Gaming Storage Tower for Sony PS3
ToysRUs.com $49.99

My Christmas gift pick is a snazzy little gaming storage tower. This can fit in the corner and keep all my equipment organized, hold my game system, and (for those of us who still play Rock Band and Guitar Hero) hold two guitars. I like the color, I like the sleek look and I like the not-over-the-top price. It is available at Toys-R-Us and is also available for PS3, Wii, and Xbox.

Kidnapped is the first episode in a long time that brings us back to the primary Jedi of the show, the main conflicts of The Clone Wars, and what the Sith are up to. And let’s be honest, the Sith are up to no good as usual, though this plan might be worse than their normal business during The Clone Wars. They’ve teamed up with the notorious Zygerrian Slavers to pretty much enslave an entire planet of peaceful Togruta so that they may sell them at a new slave auction.

Having been a slave himself, you can imagine how Anakin reacted to the realization. It’s just as personal for Ahsoka, who is herself a Togruta.

After the setup, the episode splits off into two distinct stories. The Zygerrian left on the planet calls Obi-Wan to negotiate surrender in a high tower overlooking the colony. Predictably, it’s a trap. He’s set explosives up across the colony and unless Obi-wan surrenders he’s going to blow everything sky high.

Anakin and Ahsoka spend the rest of the episode defusing bombs while Obi-wan challenges the Zygerrian into an honorable fist fight, distracting him to give Anakin enough time to complete his portion of the mission. This might have been the single funniest element I’ve seen in an episode of The Clone Wars in a long time. And after the Umbaran arc, I think we all needed a laugh. But basically, Obi-wan is letting the Zygerrian feel like he’s got a chance. Anakin (my son, not the character) didn’t get that Obi-wan was purposely throwing the fight and started shouting at the screen, “Use the Force, Obi-wan! Dad! Why isn’t he just using the Force?”

Hilarious.

This episode really shows how Anakin and Ahsoka have grown into a team with a rapport to rival the one that he had with Obi-wan during Episode II and the first half of Episode III.

Eventually, when Anakin and Ahsoka defuse the bombs and the Zygerrian makes his move to get away. Since he’s a slaver, that’s not something that sits well with Anakin and he pulls a James Bond level stunt to take the slaver down. Seriously, it was right out of The Living Daylights and I was thrilled by it. They took “>this scene from a seriously underrated James Bond film and turned it up a notch. In the Bond film, he’s fighting a bad guy on a cargo net dangling out of the back of a flying airplane. In this, Anakin is fighting a giant squid like monster and it had me on the edge of my seat.

The best part of the episode, though, wasn’t all the fantastic action or the really cool droids (sniper droids? awesome!), but the emotional issues driving Anakin further and further to the dark side. He’s not dealing with issues relating to his past well. It’s no wonder he did what he did to the sand people because of his mother and it’s no wonder he did what he did as far as Padme was concerned. He’s a firecracker, and his threats against the Zygerrian slaver went so far that he shocked even Ahsoka.

I’m really going to enjoy seeing the dark places the set up for this arc takes us. There’s a hell of a lot of Togrutas missing and Anakin and Ahsoka are both pretty upset by it. Anakin in an angry sense, Ahsoka in a compassionate sense. I can’t wait to see them dealing with that.

There were a couple of specific spots of lighting on Obi-wan I really loved this episode, too. The first is when he realizes Anakin has defused all the bombs and no longer needs the aid of the ruse. His use of the Force to crumple the commando droids in the tower looked and felt amazing, both visually and viscerally on a story level. The other moment of lighting that just wowed me was the moment Obi-wan was running down the runway after the Zygerrian. The light of his sabers blade coming up and around in time with his running just looked fantastic.

And those are spots that just jumped out at me as being particularly great in an episode where everything seemed to stand out.

They proved tonight, once again, that The Clone Wars is one of the best shows on the air.

I’ll make no bones about the fact that I’m a fan of the Muppets. I had a Kermit the Frog cake for my first few birthday parties and used to get up a full hour early for school every morning during my elementary school years just to watch the show. Hell, I saw a midnight screening of Muppets From Space and loved it.

I really like The Muppets and I leapt at the chance to catch the preview screening of this latest film with my kids.

Going in, I’ll admit that I was wary. Jason Segel, in my mind, comes from that Apatow school of comedy and filmmaking which usually kind-of funny movies than run an hour too long. The marketing campaign has been nothing short of brilliant, so that seemed to put a lot of my fears temporarily at ease. Then I read an interview with Frank Oz about how he wasn’t a fan of the script and he didn’t feel like they were giving the characters the proper respect and I got worried all over again.

That’s when I tuned out all of the marketing and just went to the movie, hoping I’d be pleasantly surprised.

Was I pleasantly surprised? That might be an understatement.

I had so much damn fun watching this movie I can’t even begin to describe it. And I brought my kids who don’t have as much nostalgia or affinity for the Muppets and they enjoyed it even more than I did. In fact, as I write this, this is the second day in a row that my son has listened to nothing but the soundtrack to the film on a loop.

The film itself revolves around Gary (Jason Segel) and his brother Walter who is a puppet. Walter is the biggest Muppet fan in the galaxy and is delighted to be invited along with Gary and Mary (Amy Adams) to their special anniversary trip to Los Angeles so he can visit the Muppet Studios. There, while sneaking into Kermit the Frog’s old office, he uncovers a plot by Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to buy the Muppet Studios, bulldoze them, and drill for oil. Where else do they go for help but to Kermit the Frog? They need to raise $10 million in a short period of time to save the theatre so Kermit decides the best course of action is to get the gang back together and put on another show.

That’s pretty much it.

The plot is standard Muppets fare but it’s infused with such a love and incredible comedic touch that it’s too compelling to ignore. It was so full of love for the franchise that I found tears in my eyes more than a couple of times. And they were happy tears of joy and nostalgia. They were the same tears that used to get me during “Saying Goodbye” in The Muppets Take Manhattan. They were the same tears that made me cry the first time I saw a Star Wars film on the big screen. It’s just overwhelming.

Segel and crew did an amazing job replicating the feel of the old Muppets at the same time making it feel relevant. The entire movie is adorable and sacharine sweet and puts a smile on your face the whole damn time. In fact, the opening song (Life’s a Happy Song) puts that smile on your face and you never lose it through the whole movie.

It’s just that perfect.

And did I mention the music is fantastic? New songs were written by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame and you can tell. They’re all fantastic but the solos he gives Chris Cooper and Amy Adams stand out more amongst a crop of stand outs.

And did I mention that it’s funny? I don’t think I’ve laughed this hard in a movie in a long, long time. But it wasn’t just me laughing, my kids were dying, too. It mastered the all-ages comedy bit in a way that I thought only Pixar was capable of.

My only complaint about the film? Mickey Rooney had more lines than Rizzo the Rat. That’s it. That’s the only thing I found odd about this film.

If you’re even half a fan of the Muppets, you need to catch this new installment of their adventures ASAP. And if you’re new to the Muppets, this is also a perfect jumping on point. I can’t imagine someone going into this film and not coming away with a new appreciation for the characters that I’ve been in love with since before I can remember.

I hope it makes lots and lots of money so we can have more Muppet movies. And a show. Yeah…  we need a new Muppet Show. And since they built a damned near perfect replica of The Muppet Theatre, why couldn’t we have a show?

Seriously, there’s way too much to love about this film and I don’t want to talk too much about it because it’ll just turn into a list of jokes and songs I loved, which is basically just the whole movie. So go see it. Now.

…maniacal laugh.  Maniacal laugh. Maniacal laugh.

(Also, do yourself a favor and buy the soundtrack. Trust me. As soon as you get out of the theatre, you’ll need it.)

To me, Booster Gold has always worked best in tandem with large teams in books that were comedically bent. I love his team ups with The Blue Beetle and I particularly like his stints on The Justice League (both the 80s comics and the DC Cartoon).  Do I think he’ll work well in a live action series?

I’m not sure.

But Booster Gold seems like it would be right up the alley of SyFy (formerly Sci-Fi) who ordered a script written for a pilot.

From the Hollywood Reporter:

The NBCUniversal cable network has ordered a pilot script for the one-hour drama based on the DC Comics franchise.

The project, which hails from Greg Berlanti’s Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Horizon Television, will count Berlanti (Brothers & Sisters, No Ordinary Family, Green Lantern) as an executive producer.Fringe‘s Andrew Kreisberg, who collaborated with Berlanti on ABC’s Eli Stone, is on board to pen the script and executive produce. DC Comics will also receive an EP credit.

My confidence drops a little when I see that they’re billing it as a drama, but hey: stranger things have worked.

Any Booster Gold fans out there care to comment?

As much as I’ve loved the Umbaran arc (it was nothing short of fantastic) my favorite thing on the show has always been Anakin’s struggle and his relationship with Ahsoka. It adds delicate undertones to the story told in the movies and every adventure I see him on in The Clone Wars makes Revenge of the Sith that much more heartbreaking.

This story, involving the slave trade, is sure to hit close to home to Anakin, and it will be fascinating to see how he deals with it.

From the press release:

The Jedi uncover that despicable slavers are behind the sudden disappearance of an entire colony of people on the planet Kiros. Obi-Wan must face the imposing Zygerrian leader in a knuckle-crunching fistfight, while Anakin and Ahsoka rush to defuse a series of bombs planted throughout the colony. It’s a race against time in “Kidnapped,” a new episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, airing at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, November 25th on Cartoon Network.

Here’s a second clip from the show:

It’s a matter of fact that Zelda II: The Adventure of Link sold over 1 zillion copies, a zillion! A fictional number that is thought to be very high. What’s strange about this title selling so many copies is that most people don’t think it’s a good game… and on multiple occasions I’ve found that I’ve had to defend it. Which is the subject of this post.

I am sick or tired (I can be frustrated by just one of these things.) Okay, I’ll start again… I am sick or tired of idiots telling me why they don’t like the second installment of The Legend of Zelda franchise. It’s the same dumb excuse every time.

“It’s not like the rest of the series,” they say, but if you ask me, a retarded water balloon could think of something more profound.

People are so desperate to have an opinion about anything that they see one thing that’s easily identifiable as different from the sacred original article and they hold onto it as if they’ve actually got a point. Sure, it’s a side-scroller, and sure they incorporated a kick-ass level system, but what is inherently wrong with these things? I didn’t hear anyone bitching when they switched to 3-D, which, believe it or not is a much larger shift. So, I’m sorry that you have to kill goblins at a different angle, but that is a tired fucking excuse and you have no business inhabiting this planet let alone consuming valuable electricity to play precious video games.

Zelda II was released on the NES, and what that system did best was side-scrolling video games, putting Zelda II among the upper echelon of Nintendo games like Super Mario Bros., Metroid, Castlevania, Contra, Mega Man, and Double Dragon. Compare that to the crowd of video games that the original Legend of Zelda is forced to hang around with, bird’s eye view catastrophes like LoLo, Smash T.V. and Railroad Tycoon. What’s really frustrating is that even Zelda II’s Wikipedia page stands in opposition to me, stating that it “bears little resemblance to the first game in the series or later games in the series.” Really, Wikipedia, what about the fact that your playable character is a damn elf wearing a green costume? Is that just a coincidence? The fact is, Zelda II brought many things to the series. Imagine future Zelda games without cities, or a magic system. I think you could also argue that it helped solidify Zelda’s role as an RPG series.

The complaint about Zelda II that I hear probably the second most often, is that it’s too tedious and difficult, which doesn’t make you quite as stupid a cretin as the first, but if I did hear you say that, then I probably wouldn’t leap to the conclusion that you knew how to read either. I would go so far as to say that anyone who thinks that Zelda II is “too difficult” has never actually really played the original Legend of Zelda. The original game’s master quest makes the original Legend of Zelda one of the most difficult video games by far. (that is actually still worth playing.)

On top of everything else, Zelda II was really one of the first games of its kind; the creators managed to make a really unique game while weaving in as many elements of the original as possible. What’s amazing is that anyone finds anything to complain about at all. Basically, all you’re doing in Zelda II is running around killing various monsters. To reiterate, you’re jumping around and killing monsters with a sword to rouse a sleeping princess. That’s it. It’s not claiming to be anything more than that. It doesn’t proclaim itself to be the first game at all… and  so am I saying that hating Zelda II is like saying that you hate fun? Yes, and you’re an idiot moron if you do.

“War! The Republic is crumbling under attacks by the ruthless Sith Lord, Count Dooku. There are heroes on both sides. Evil is everywhere.” –Revenge of the Sith

I think that’s the most important thought to keep with you as you watch the Umbaran Arc of episodes, and this fourth installment is no exception. After three episodes of being completely mistreated by General Pong Krell, Captain Rex and his men finally uncover his plot to leave the Jedi order after completely decimating the Umbara campaign.

With Umbara left in the hands of the Seperatists because of Krell’s maneuvering, he assumed he’d be awarded with a place at Dooku’s side. And for those complaining that the Jedi would never leave any important command in the hands of someone so obviously teetering on the brink, remember that the dark side has clouded their visions, my friends.

Through the entire series I was wondering how close to the dark side Krell was skating, and all of the questions of logic I had about why he was so angry about the clones succeeding in their missions were answered completely. This episode delivered on every level of answering questions and, in classic Star Wars fashion, going back and revising my opinion of what I’d seen before. This episode held surprise after surprise for me (though the last few minutes were pretty predictable (but that doesn’t matter)). From Jesse and Fives being almost executed, to Krell’s betrayal, forcing the clones to kill themselves, it was all incredibly intense.

In fact, in a lot of places it had a lot of slow-burning tension like you’d see in a Hitchcock film. Even Krell’s speech about the Clones being inferior hearkened back to Brandon’s speech in Hitchcock’s Rope. (Do yourself a favor and see Rope.) Brandon Shaw isn’t the only film villain that Krell channels, he also has lines and mannerisms straight from Palpatine himself. It was downright scary at times.

And the realization that the clones were killing each other was downright haunting.

The culmination of the story in the last three episodes was fantastic, to be sure, but there was so much going on technically and I want to highlight it. Firstly, this episode, in a lot of ways, felt like a noir film. From narrow bands of light across character’s faces to smoke in the foreground, it had a lot of sensibilities from old black and white movies that knew how to paint with light. But there was also so much from a classic Star Wars perspective that just can’t be ignored. Everything with Krell and his lightsabers in the dark reminded me so much of the fight between Anakin and Dooku in Attack of the Clones that I was just giddy.

I really don’t need to tell you how incredible and dynamic the action in this episode was. Any time you get to see a Jedi and a pack of clones going at it full force is a grand time. And is it any wonder that the clones of the 501st so happily march on the Jedi temple with Master Skywalker? The Jedi had already betrayed them once, why not this time?

This might be my favorite episode of Season 4 so far. It had all the right elements, cast new light on prior episodes, and just kicked a lot of ass.

And I’ll be completely honest, it wasn’t as much Paths of Glory as I thought it would be which is partially the reason for a lot of the surprises in the episode, but overall, I think it was definitely an inspiration for the arc. I hope you check it out.

At the end of the day, though, it’s a good time to be a Star Wars fan.

“I just blue myself.” I know some people might think this is yet another one of my April Fools Jokes, but this is no joke, Arrested Development has officially been picked up to make a fourth season. In a bidding war Netflix has won out to show episodes to their subscribers in early 2013. This is officially the third series from FOX to come back after being previously cancelled. No cast members have been officially confirmed however all of them have expressed interest in doing so and considering it is so popular I would doubt anyone wouldn’t sign on.

This is of course big news for Netflix since they lost a number of users after the price change so this could potentially give them the jolt they need to get more users back.

Tonight at the annual Children in Need telethon in the UK the world was shown the trailer for this year’s Doctor Who special. Titled “The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe” it has been confirmed by the BBC that the special will air on Christmas Day. There was also a special video that was produced just for the telethon. Look below to see both the trailer and this special video.

Lucasfilm has been kind enough to once more give as a look at the new episode of The Clone Wars.

If the writers told me they’d never seen Paths of Glory, I’d call them damn liars. And if you told me you hadn’t seen it, I’d insist that you watch it as soon as possible. It’s great to see Rex put into the Kirk Douglas role. I can’t wait for this episode.

From the press release:

With two of his men facing execution for disobeying orders, Captain Rex is forced to confront his overly aggressive commander, General Krell in the conclusion to the action-packed battle for Umbara. Risking charges of mutiny, Rex must make a dark choice as the true face of the enemy emerges in “Carnage of Krell,” a new episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, airing at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, November 18^th on Cartoon Network.