Staff Picks of the Week – July 14th, 2017
The end of the week is here and it is time for the Staff Picks of the Week! Each Friday, I share with you, our lovely readers what has been keeping our staff entertained! But before the picks, let me catch you up on what is new at Rogues Portal this week!
We have comic book reviews for Ophelia’s Revenge, Last Song #1, Dread Gods #1, Calexit #1, Harbinger Renegade #5, and the entire Sunny and Owl Girl collection! And I know everyone loves free comics! Go and download Warframe #1 Convention Edition! Did you know we started a book club? We did! Take a look at The Rogues Portal Book Club, this month the book is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone! Read the book and join our Twitter chat on July 24th at 1 P.M. est time! Speaking of books, check out Two Solid Dudes, this week they read DeNiro’s Game by Rawi Hage.
We all have experienced having a crush on a fictional character. This week, Amelia, Rhian, Samantha , and Reed share who their First Crush was. Whats new in gaming this week? Well, we have Amelia’s Gaming Retrospective of Tomb Raider II, and mobile game reviews for Puzzlerama and PolitCats. Switching over to film and TV, Stephanie Cooke shares her thoughts on the casting of Squirrel Girl. Samantha recaps episode one of Will and give her 100 Thoughts on the 100. And take a listen to the latest episodes from our fantastic podcasts, Comicsbound, Scooby Dos or Scooby Don’ts, The Missfits, The Comics Agenda, Not Enough Resources, Film Runners, and Babes of Wonderland. You know we always have a lot going on! And now it is time for the Staff Picks of the Week!
Stephanie Pouliotte’s Pick of the Week – This week, I’m all about GLOW, one of Netflix’s latest series that looks to be the ultimate throw down of glamorous gals in glittery leotards. It follows Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie), a mediocre actress who is struggling to find roles in a world where men get all the best lines. Despite her ardent dedication to her craft, a few wrong turns and very bad decisions finds Ruth auditioning for a women’s wrestling show run by a sleazy B-movie director and featuring a cast of other misfits who aren’t too impressed with her pretentious actor ways. Worse yet, former soap diva and spurned ex-bestie Debbie Eagan (Betty Gilpin) is handed the starring role without even auditioning, once again casting Ruth into the shadows. I’m not yet finished the season, but so far I’m absolutely hooked! The cast is simply phenomenal, and though their wrestling personas are some pretty cringe-worthy stereotypes, each character has her own story to tell. I do wish there were more glittery piledrivers to be had, but I’m told the finale has some pretty epic ring-side action!
Heather’s Pick of the Week – I read for work. I read for pleasure. I read, read, and read s’more. Sometimes I need to stop reading, watch something, and you probably do too! My staff pick this week is one of my favorite non-reading alternatives for lulz online, the YouTube channel Funhaus. Operating under the Rooster Teeth network of channels, Funhaus is a parody gaming channel. The hilarious cast members, Adam Kovic, Bruce Greene, James Willems, Lawrence Sonntag, Elyse Willems, Matt Peake, host a regular schedule of gaming videos with the occasional bonus sprinkled in. I look forward to their Demo Disk videos in which they select random (and often times horrible) CD-ROMs from back in the day that remind us just how far video game technology has come. In addition to video and computer game videos, Funhaus also host a weekly podcast – Dude Soup, and an ongoing D&D campaign. I find that the upload schedule they adhere to not only keeps my attention and keeps me coming back, but it makes me anticipate what’s to come through the rest of the week. Some might argue that their content is recycled, but as an adult nerdlette I appreciate their consistency and humor. I don’t need to be constantly surprised by content creators trying something new just for the sake of views. Funhaus knows what works and they do it well. If you’re still not convinced, give this video a watch. Enjoy – and remember never to Google search Rule 34 of your most beloved cartoon hero.
Michael’s Pick of the Week – My pick this week is the second season of the AMC series Preacher. We’re three episodes into the season and, even though I enjoyed the first season all enough, it’s already bigger, better and more fun than its ever been. Part of that is the search to find God is keeping the leads (Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga and Joe Gilgun) generally together and the group chemistry is next level. The series remains a loose adaptation when it comes to the details, but the addition of Herr Starr this season and The Saint of Killers’ amped up presence are proof that the showrunners know which parts are important enough to keep. The series airs weekly, Monday nights on AMC.
David’s Pick of the Week – My pick this week is the HBO documentary that played this week, The Defiant Ones. The doc follows the rise of two men, Dr. Dre and music producer Jimmy Iovine. It begins with their early days, when Iovine was an engineer involved in projects with Bruce Springteen and Stevie Nicks. And when Dr. Dre was first a DJ dressed in purple scrubs, complete with surgeon mask spinning records at a club, moving on to N.W.A and rising to the star he is today. The pair met in 1992 when Interscope Records set up a deal with Death Row. Their relationship continues after Dre and Iovine exited the toxic atmosphere Suge Knight thrived on at Death Row, and Interscope picks up Dr. Dre’s new label, Aftermath. The documentary is exceptionally well done, filled with little known facts. For example, if it wasn’t for female rap group J.J. Fad, we probably wouldn’t have had N.W.A.! If you are a fan of the Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Nine Inch Nails, or Marilyn Manson, this is one documentary you don’t want to miss!
Billy’s Pick of the Week – My staff pick of the week is The Diary of River Song Volume 2 from Big Finish Productions. Even though this audio drama box set came out in December, I only just got around to listening to it in my post-season state of withdrawal. River pairs so well with both the Sixth and Seventh Doctors in this set! While the adventure with the Seventh Doctor is as platonic as you’d expect, I was genuinely surprised by how much romantic energy River had with the Sixth. I’m not even a huge River Song fan overall, but Big Finish does the character right. Colin Baker in particular has some amazing opportunities to shine in his two stories, and you could tell the writers had fun working with the melodramatic edge of his character. Where this set really takes off, however, is in its second story, Five Twenty Three. The only story not to feature the Doctor in any way, Five Twenty Three impresses with an engaging, hard science-fiction story that soars in its fearless execution. I enjoyed the first Diary of River Song box set, but this is really something special.
