2015 My Geekiest of Years.

As is usual for this time of year I like to look back on the things that geeked me out in the previous year, looking back there were lots of things in 2015 that just blew me away here are some of the most memorable.

Our first USA Convention.
As I posted back in June we visited our first State side convention last year and had the time of our life, we were total over-welled by the friendship and love that was shown to both of us by what had up to that point been friends we had meet on social medium. I was a little nervous meeting them at first but my nerves were unfounded, as I went to shake the hand of Mike Faber the host of the ESO Podcast and he said ''no sir you get a hug'' and at that point all nerves disappeared. Later meetings with Howdy Mike Gordon, Jennifer Hartshorn, Phantom Troublemaker and Nikki Rau-Baker all went the same way I have never felt so at ease with people I have just met it was like meeting old friends again.

                                                                          Bobby & myself

Author Bobby Nash was at the convention and as a fan of his work it was great to meet him at last, he joined us at our table on the first night and sat and talked with us for around an hour. I was sat there thinking don't be a fan boy, don't be a fan boy but I totally was, Bobby also introduced me to his friend and fellow author James Palmer. James is not only talented but very friendly and great to talk to, I was also lucky enough to do an interview with James on my blog a few months after the convention. I would encourage any one to check out the work of both Bobby and James on their webpages, as it seems like Atlanta is full of very talented writers.

                                        James & myself

The fan boy kicked in again when I meet artist Mark Maddox but I managed to contain myself sort of, and I had several great conversations with Mark over the weekend as well as purchasing some great Doctor Who artwork off him.

The whole weekend just flew by however it did end with us being invited to the Earth Station One meal, where I sat, ate, talked and laughed with the guys I had listened to and talked on the internet with for years. And if that wasn't enough on the way back to the hotel they took us to the Book Nook, which is local comic book shop and it was the perfect end to a wonderful weekend with awesome people, I was left feeling one of the luckiest people on earth. 

It was also at Timegate that I had the pleasure of meeting Katy Manning who played Joe the 3rd Doctors companion, and the present incarnation of the Master Missy played by the wonderful Michelle Gomez. Both were wonderful although Michelle seemed a little nervous as this was her first ever convention, however she seemed to grow in confidence as the day went on and gave two wonderful talks about her time on Doctor Who. To my wife's delight Michelle waved to her as she was leaving the convention, we were sat in the lobby relaxing with a coffee as she came walking past us. As she went past she turned, waved and said ''goodbye England'' we both waved back feeling a little bit geeky inside.  Katey on the other hand was delightfully scatty and spoke and hugged everyone she meet wherever she meet them, on more than one occasion during the convention she came up to me talking in a Northern accent saying ''hey up cocker how are ya''. It makes me smile every time I think about it, such a wonderful and warm hearted lady.

UK Convention:
I was also lucky enough to meet the 6th Doctor (Colin Baker) his companion Peri (Nicola Bryant) and the wonderful Sargent Benton (John Levine), at the Sheffield Film and Si-Fi convention at the Moterpoint Arena. This was our second year visiting this show and as the previous year we had a great time, the show is well organised everyone is friendly and there to have a good time. Some of the costumes that people wear are outstanding the 6th Doctor and the Frankenstein monster are just two of the many that come to mind. Colin and Nicola were very friendly and great with the fans, but they were total eclipsed by John Levene who was one of the most warm and friendly guest I have ever meet.

I could have sat and talked for hours with that man and to be honest he probably would have let me, I made a point of going up to him on the Sunday as we were leaving to tell him how wonderful he had been. He shook my hand vigorously and said ''bless you for that'' adding ''I do love to meet the fans, its a real privilege after all these years to still meet and talk with them'' . As I said wonderful man and I encourage anyone who is at a convention John is at to go and talk with him, other guests at Sheffield included Freddie Kruger himself Robert Enguld and Michael Bean of Terminator, Aliens and Tombstone fame. Both had very full and active lines to their respective tables, and I heard nothing but good things about them from the fans who met them. 

Films:
Film wise there is only one no its not Highlander its Star Wars, now I know it wasn't a perfect film but neither were the originals. It was however as good as the originals in every way, Star Wars was back and it transported me back to my childhood well my teenhood if there is such a word.. 

Comics:
2015 seemed to be a great year for crossovers, Star Trek- Planet of the Apes was fantastic, honestly who could fail to geek out at seeing Kirk and Taylor cross paths. Star Trek- Green Lantern was also a great story, putting the new  Star Trek crew into the Lantern universe well sort off.

If you thought those two were  odd comic crossovers Archie vs Predator is the craziest one of the lot, but as ,odd as a comic this first seems it is really very good. It was a 4 issue mini series that is now available in trade, and well worth checking out.

Batman continued to be my number one comic with Scott Snyder creating some wonderful story lines, when I first heard he was going to make Jim Gordon Batman and put him in a merchandised Batman suit. I hated the idea and the new Batman look I even thought it would make me drop the book, how wrong I was. 

                                                                

TV Shows:
Doctor Who continued to improve as a show with Peter Capaldi really excelling in his role as the Doctor, he was very good in his first season but I felt he was let down with some poor storys. This season the storys have been excellent with only one bad episode in the entire run, even the Christmas special went against tradition and was very good (not a fan of the Christmas specials).

Arrow was back on form once again after an average season as was The Waking Dead, however new show The Flash was one of the best shows of its type in 2015. I say one as for me Daredevil was the outstanding show on TV last year, Daredevil stands head and shoulders above all the others and is essential viewing if your a fan of the Marvel film and TV Universe. Netflix other hero show Jessica Jones came out at the end of last year, and while it was an great show it didn't quite match the excellence of Daredevil. It is worth watching for the titanic performances from David Tennant as Kilgrave, Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, and Mike Colter as Luke Cage.

2015 was a busy but fantastic year and I'm looking forward to seeing what 2016 has to offer?

Earth Station One Hits 300

Last weekend The Earth Station One podcast reached the mile stone episode of 300 episodes, host Mike Faber and co-host Mike Gordon were joined by friends of the station award-winning author Bobby Nash, Anthony Taylor, Doctor Q, Talloolah Love, Gary Mitchel, Jessa Phillips, John Strangeway, Dan Carroll, Kirby-Bartlett Sloan, Peter Cutler, J.R. Mounts and many more.

Mike and Mike celebrated their 5 years of podcasting by ranting and raving about the long and strange journey the show has taken them on. The show was recorded live at Titans Comics and Games in Smyrna Georgia, and is now up on there website for all to enjoy, hit the link to take you to their website The ESO Network

Earth Station One is the founder podcast of the Earth Station One Network which has an ever expanding roster of shows, which cover just about every aspect of geek culture you can think of so there's something on there for everyone.

On a personal note I would like to congratulate everyone who has ever been connected with the Earth Station One podcast, for producing 5 years of quality and informative entertainment. 

To Mike Faber the driving force behind the Earth Station One Network I raise a glass to you sir, your innovation, commitment and dedication to the network and its shows is an inspiration for everyone to follow.