Jay Van Beveren
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Posts by Jay Van Beveren
Jay’s spoiler-free take on TRON Legacy, in less than 400 words
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TRON Legacy isn’t Shakespeare.
The reviews for the latest take on the legacy of Flynn and his electronic grid are less than kind. Reading some of them, you’d expect this movie to be on par with one of the worst movies ever. Even my companion to the midnight launch last night compared the movie’s suckitude to The Matrix Revolutions, a declaration which kind of surprised me.
So let me just say, TRON Legacy isn’t Shakespeare. It’s not a Movie of the Year contender. Instead, it’s just fun.
If you go into the movie only expecting a 2 hour piece of entertainment, you’ll probably walk out very happy. That’s how I approached the movie, and I left the theater pleased. TRON Legacy is fun. It’s loud, it’s shiny, and it’s one of the best uses of your movie theater’s subwoofer since the Inception soundtrack. The writing isn’t the best, and the acting has some issues.
TRON Legacy is like the Michael Bay film for geeks. The explosions are big and beautiful, the sound effects are well crafted, the set work will impress you, and the special effects are a work of art. Daft Punk’s soundtrack is like sex for your ears. I’d even go so far as to say that TRON Legacy is one of the best uses of 3D in a while. And although the script work is questionable at best, the writers at least deserve credit for ditching the PC acronyms as character names.
It’s not perfect and it has its problems, CLU being the biggest of them. I also think the trailers have painted a terrible picture of Legacy being this massively epic sci-fi piece on a similar scale as The Matrix, which is a woefully inaccurate comparison and an unattainable bar for any movie.
If you’re a TRON fan, you’ll see lots of background references to the original film (Space Paranoids, anyone?). If you’ve never seen the original, go see Legacy anyway, because it gives you a great synopsis of the events from its predecesor. But whoever you are, if you go see Legacy, just go with a good time in mind, and make no heavy demands of it. You’ll probably find the right level of entertainment. Then again, I’m the guy who liked The A-Team. 
Oh, and biggest surprise of the night? I kinda loved the trailer for Cars 2. No joke.
Remember When – Episode 40
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Remember When returns with another Special Edition episode that’s aimed squarely at your brain… your plump, delicious brain.
Episode 40 is a one-off release that we’re doing to discuss the latest in AMC’s original programming. The Walking Dead premieres on Halloween night this year, and AMC was gracious enough to provide us with screener copies of the first two episodes before they aired. So we’re here with a special release to talk about this series, what it means, and why you should watch it.
Because The Walking Dead hasn’t aired yet, we’ve divided the show into three separate segments. First, we give you a spoiler-free look at the initial pair of episodes, giving you a detailed look at why we love the first two hours of The Walking Dead without ruining any of the story details for you.
After that, we jump into a spoiler-filled discussion on Days Gone By, the pilot episode of The Walking Dead. We talk about our reactions to the initial offering, what we think worked well, and what could have improved.
Then we end the show talking about Guts, the second hour of The Walking Dead. This is an amazing piece of television and one of the best hours of TV we’ve seen this year. Listen in for all the spoiler-filled details.
We want to thank AMC for giving us this unique opportunity to preview The Walking Dead before its official air date. It’s through their support that we were able to present an episode like this.
Don’t forget to join our Facebook group! It lets you keep up to date with the show in between our podcast releases, gives you the first look at our upcoming live recording sessions, and allows you to communicate with us and your fellow Remember When fans in between shows. Check it out at this link. You can also follow us on Twitter.
As always, Remember When continues to grow and thrive thanks to the joy, love, appreciation, and comments we get from our fans. If you enjoy our show, please leave us positive feedback on iTunes. We really appreciate it, plus it helps us reach people that have never heard of us! And if you’d like to share your thoughts with us, you can send us an email at or leave us a voicemail at 206-495-1732. Please note, long distance charges may apply.
AUDIO
Download this episode now, or grab the RSS feed and become a regular listener
SHOW NOTES
0:00 to 15:36 – Spoiler-free discussion of The Walking Dead and our impressions of the first two episodes
15:59 to 35:36 – Spoiler-heavy discussion of “Days Gone By”, the pilot for The Walking Dead
35:36 to end – Spoiler-heavy discussion of “Guts”, the second episode of The Walking Dead
Jay’s spoiler-free take on the first two episodes of “The Walking Dead”
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I’ll let you in on a little secret: When AMC sent us a screener disc with the first two episodes of The Walking Dead, I was a little concerned.
Part of that trepidation was because I’d built up this incredibly high expectation for the show. How could I not? It has the AMC tag on it, and their original programming has become a model for other networks on cable. There’s high profile Hollywood talent like Frank Darabont and Gale Anne Hurd attached to the series. And ever since the early clips at Comic-Con and the initial trailer, we’ve been eagerly awaiting the invasion of the zombies.
Plus, it’s a show about zombies, which poses a whole new set of problems. What are the limits for a network, even a Cable TV channel, when you’re dealing with an Undead creature that feasts on human entrails and can only be killed by destroying its brain? Will they suck it up and show you as much as possible, or will they cave and play it the easy route?
I entered The Walking Dead with fingers crossed and raised hopes. Two hours later, when I left it, I was impressed. AMC presents The Walking Dead as a no-holds barred TV show that’s easily on par with the rest of their original programming, and stands above the majority of other shows on TV. It’s vivid, it’s visceral, and it’s violent, and as someone that’s squeamish, I found myself cringing more than once. But in the end, I walked away with such a high appreciation for the show that I feel comfortable calling The Walking Dead my favorite new TV offering of 2010.
I’ve got more, spoiler-free thoughts after the break.
Remember When – Episode 39
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After an unintentional hiatus due to real life, we’re pleased to bring you the glorious return of the Remember When podcast!
Although we promised you a Doctor Who & Torchwood episode, we’re pushing that off slightly. At the top of the show, we explain why we’re postponing our venture into the realm of British sci-fi, and why the delay means better things for our listeners.
We spend the rest of Episode 40 talking about our views on other TV shows, both spectacular and spectacularly bad. First up, we cover the third season of True Blood. With the series finale airing last month, we look back at the season overall and discuss the elements we loved, the pieces that failed miserably, and what we think needs to be fixed before Alan Ball and the cast and crew start working on the fourth season.
Then we take a long awaited dive into the deep end of Mad Men. Jay’s finally caught up with the show, and as AMC puts the fourth season to bed, we take a comprehensive look into the first few years of the show, talk about Jay’s experiences with getting invested in this AMC marvel, and Parris’ viewpoints on the complexities of the Draper family, and why they’re so fascinating to watch. We talk about some of the unsung heroes of the show, our favorite moments, and why this can be a tough sell for new viewers.
We spend the last 30 minutes of the show working our way through the Fall season. It’s been a lamentable slate of releases over the past few months, with early cancellations and very few stand out shows. We talk about why this Fall TV season seems like one of the worst in recent history, some of the early standouts for us, and more. We also discuss the remainder of episodes for Remember When in 2010, and the Big Movies we’re tackling at the start of 2011.
It’s a show filled with loads of tangents, as you’ve come to expect. The audio quality may be slightly off at points. We apologize for that, and will work to have that fixed for our upcoming Doctor Who episodes.
Don’t forget to join our Facebook group! It lets you keep up to date with the show in between our podcast releases, gives you the first look at our upcoming live recording sessions, and allows you to communicate with us and your fellow Remember When fans in between shows. Check it out at this link. You can also follow us on Twitter.
As always, Remember When continues to grow and thrive thanks to the joy, love, appreciation, and comments we get from our fans. If you enjoy our show, please leave us positive feedback on iTunes. We really appreciate it, plus it helps us reach people that have never heard of us! And if you’d like to share your thoughts with us, you can send us an email at or leave us a voicemail at 206-495-1732. Please note, long distance charges may apply.
AUDIO
Download this episode now, or grab the RSS feed and become a regular listener
SHOW NOTES
Start to 8:45 – Show intro, explanation of Doctor Who & Torchwood delay
8:45 to 16:07 – True Blood Season 3 (filled with spoilers)
16:07 to 23:08 – Recent stinkers on TV, looking back on Heroes and The Shield, as well as some Rubicon chat (almost no spoilers)
23:08 to 48:57 – Mad Men (filled with spoilers through all seasons)
48:57 to 1:22:35 – The Fall TV season (minimal spoilers, though we call them out ahead of time)
1:22:35 to End – Upcoming schedule for Remember When, Toy Story talk, and wrap up
Remember When is returning…. TOMORROW!
2After a long and unintended hiatus due to medical issues beyond our control, Remember When is FINALLY making a return tomorrow night. That’s Tuesday, October 19th. We’ll be recording at 10pm Pacific, and as always, our podcast recording will be broadcast live on Ustream.
Tomorrow night’s episode will be covering the Fall TV season, with a healthy dose of conversation about Mad Men, True Blood, some of our summer favorites, and our thoughts on the general Fall TV lineup and what we’re watching. It’s going to be a fun hour, with two friends sitting back down in front of their microphones, talking about what they love and getting caught up about something they’re passionate about.
If you’re wondering about our Doctor Who discussion, it’s still coming. It won’t be covered in tomorrow night’s episode. We actually have a Very Special Announcement to make about our upcoming chats about Doctor Who and Torchwood, so listen in tomorrow night for the details.
Thank you so much for your patience, the kind words you’ve sent us via email, Facebook, and Twitter, and the messages we get in our voicemail. We hope you can join us tomorrow night!
Jay’s final verdict on Dinner for Schmucks
0Yeah, I know. I’m long overdue
with my recap on “Dinner for Schmucks”. I saw the movie a few weeks ago, and I’ve been meaning to come back and tell you my thoughts. I’d love to tell you that the delay was because I took some deep, introspective journey into my own psyche as I questioned the deep, existential message that this movie offered.
Truth is, I just got busy with work. The season of video games is just around the corner, and that means more and more long nights for me. C’est la vie, though. There are worse problems to have.
Anyway, let’s talk Schmucks. In case you forgot, I let the Internet decide if I should see the movie or not. And after their votes suggested paying to see this in the theater (the full priced theater, at that), I submitted to the will of the people.
The truth is, it’s not half bad; the problem is, it’s also not that good.
That sentence is the best summation you’ll get out of me. You can read more about the movie in my spoiler-free elaboration after the break, detailing what the movie did wrong, and the two things it does right.
Please pardon our delay
6Just a quick note to say how sorry we are with the delay in our latest podcast.
To say that we’re eager to talk about Doctor Who and Torchwood is an understatement. The knowledge that Parris has mostly caught up with Doctor Who has left me an extremely eager co-host, waiting to hear what he thinks of the various seasons and companions. And Parris is having a tough time keeping the lid on his feelings and opinions about the show.
Unfortunately, although we had plans to bring you the show last week, Parris picked up the flu and was down for the count during our regular recording schedule. What’s worse, he found out this past Monday that he was going to need emergency oral surgery. Just yesterday, he was at the hospital having that done.
The good news is, his surgery went well, and despite a little pain, he’s expected to make a smooth recovery in short order. As soon as he’s able to talk again, we’re going to have our microphones out and recording. We know how much our show delays can frustrate our fans, so we hope you’ll be understanding. Sometimes, life just gets in the way. And by “life”, I mean “a doctor’s scalpel”.
But we’re going to be back soon with the show. We also have content for the website next week! I’ll be giving you my final recap on what I thought of Dinner for Schmucks, I let you know what I thought of the first season of The Big Bang Theory (I’m almost done) and we’ll chat about the fall TV season (holy crap, it looks terrible).
So please know that we haven’t forgotten you, and our neglect is unintentional. Life’s just been crazy. We’re still here, we’re not going away, and we’ll be back in short order starting on Monday. :)
Early details on Remember When – Episode 39
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If the image on the right doesn’t give away our show topic for Episode 39, let me entertain you with a few paragraphs of text.
Our next episode of the Remember When podcast will be focused exclusively on Doctor Who and Torchwood. We may or may not finally get around to talking about “Some Kind of Wonderful”, the latest in Great Movies Jay Has Never Seen. It’s tough to say. When it comes to the Last of the Time Lords, there’s just so much content that we hate to distract you with a piddly little John Hughes movie. There’s sci-fi talk to be had!!
Here’s what we’ll be covering, in full spoiler-y goodness:
- Doctor Who: Series 1 through Series 4 (that’s the “Series 1″ from 2005 with Christopher Eccleston)
- The 2009/2010 specials featuring David Tennant
- Torchwood Seasons 1 & 2
- Torchwood: Children of Earth
While we had originally thought to include Series 5, we’ve decided to put that one on the back burner until Parris has time to catch up and get adjusted to the new cast. Plus, putting some distance between me and Series 5 is a good thing, given my complete distaste for it. :)
We’re tentatively planning to record the show late next week, pending clear schedules on both our ends. But we’re both very excited to finally, after many months, bring you our thoughts on what could arguably be some of the best science fiction on television.
Well, not counting some of the Martha episodes.
So stay tuned kids. The day you’ve been emailing us about is upon us. The Man from Gallifrey is about to get his day in the limelight.
Presenting “The Walking Dead” trailer (and it’s intense)
11We admit it, we’re huge fans of the AMC TV lineup. Over the past few years, the cable network has moved to the forefront of exceptional programming, with shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad. When the network announced their new zombie-thriller, The Walking Dead, we were eager to see what they could produce.
As you probably heard us talk about on the last Remember When episode, Cable TV has become the front runner in quality TV shows. The official trailer for The Walking Dead was released today, and if this sneak preview is any indication, then AMC’s latest show is just going to continue that trend. The series premiere is at 10PM Eastern on October 31st. Can we just fast forward to Halloween right now?
Remember When – Episode 38
8Parris and Jay vs. The World
Prepare yourself for a battle royale. Remember When is back with a new podcast, and this time, it’s a battle of opinions!
We sit down this week for a quick episode, as we look back on our respective experiences with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Jay loved it passionately, Parris hated it to the point of nearly walking out. With two diametrically opposed opinions, it’s going to be a fun discussion.
Jay talks about his experiences with the movie, why he was pleased he DIDN’T read the comics ahead of time, and how he appreciates the love letter effect in the film. Parris explains The Wife Effect, his feelings on why the romantic storyline deflated the overall film, and why Michael Cera might not have been the best choice for the role.
Two people enter the ring. Where will it end? Listen in and find out.
Then we wrap up the show with some talk about True Blood, Mad Men, why AMC is one of the greatest cable networks available, and our hopes and fears for the Fall TV season. Believe it or not, we even manage to avoid spoilers in this section as well!
Don’t forget to join our Facebook group! It lets you keep up to date with the show in between our podcast releases, gives you the first look at our upcoming live recording sessions, and allows you to communicate with us and your fellow Remember When fans in between shows. Check it out at this link. You can also follow us on Twitter.
As always, Remember When continues to grow and thrive thanks to the joy, love, appreciation, and comments we get from our fans. If you enjoy our show, please leave us positive feedback on iTunes. We really appreciate it, plus it helps us reach people that have never heard of us! And if you’d like to share your thoughts with us, you can send us an email at or leave us a voicemail at 206-495-1732. Please note, long distance charges may apply.
AUDIO
Download this episode now, or grab the RSS feed and become a regular listener
Program time stamps:
Start to 26:55 – Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (loads of spoilers)
26:55 to end – Mad Men, AMC, the Fall TV lineup, and the failings of network TV (extremely minimal spoilers)