A Fistful Of Quarters

Today a documentary I’ve been waiting months to see finally came out on DVD. The documentary in question is The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and from all of the reviews I’ve read it is going to be really, really good. The movie follows “a science teacher and a hot sauce mogul [as they] vie for the Guinness World Record on the arcade classic, Donkey Kong.” (link) There’s a certain nostalgia playing those old video arcade games like Ms. Pac-Man and Centipede that just can’t be replicated by the Wiis and PS3s of today.


I had been planning on seeing The King of Kong while it was still out in the movie theaters, but of course it was just my luck that the day before I was planning to go see it, it left the theaters. I was pretty annoyed at the time, so of course as soon as I could I ran to my local Blockbuster and rented the DVD. I should be watching it by the time you read this, and if I have some more time tonight I’ll give you guys a report. In the mean time here’s the official trailer for The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters:



If you can’t access YouTube or you just want additional info on the movie read on. According to www.billyvssteve.com:

In 1982, LIFE Magazine assembled the world’s greatest gamers for a photo shoot that would become the center spread of their 1982 Year-In-Photos edition. Billy Mitchell, who would later be named the “Gamer of the Century,” was one of the invitees.

Mitchell, the World Record holder on Centipede, had been tracking the score on Donkey Kong, and knew he would take that title as well. In front of the 20 best gamers in the world, Billy scored 874,300 points, a record many thought would never be broken.

In 2003, 35 year old family man Steve Wiebe, after losing his job at Boeing, found solace in Donkey Kong. Steve stumbled upon Billy Mitchell’s record online, and set out to break it. He began perfecting his game every night after his wife and kids went to bed, and not only surpassed Billy’s record, but ended up with a thought-to-be-impossible 1,000,000 points.

In the months that followed, Steve and Billy engaged in a cross-country duel to see who could set the high score that would be included in the 2007 Guinness World Records’ book and become The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.

According to Wikipedia (we all know how reliable that is, so take this with a grain of salt), “a scripted movie adaptation is already in the works. Director Seth Gordon has said that the movie might be a sequel instead of a remake, telling the story of how the documentary changed both men's lives, as well as their continuing rivalry.” (link)

Pop-Up Lost

As we inch ever closer and closer to Thursday’s season premier of Lost, The Futon Critic has some exciting news for all us Losties. In preparation for Season 4, ABC will be airing Lost’s Season 3 two-hour finale, “Through the Looking Glass,” this Wednesday. Not only that but it will be “enhanced with on-screen facts and back story.” (link)


I’m imagining something like VH1’s Pop-Up Video, one of my all time favorite TV guilty pleasures, but I don’t think it will be all that similar from the description of the event in ABC’s press release. According to ABC, “the enhanced version of Lost will include text on the lower third of the screen and will ‘let viewers in’ on clues in the show, as well as give back story to catch new viewers up for Season Four.” (link) While I usually don’t like watching repeats, I’m pretty intrigued to see what new information, if any, will be shared as to these so-called clues in Season 3’s finale.

How Many Of Our Favorite TV Shows Are Left?

Michael Ausiello, TV Guide senior writer, has updated his Strike Chart: How Long Before Your Shows Go Dark? In it Ausiello lists how many episodes of this fall’s shows were completed pre-WGA strike and how many of those episodes have yet to air. Unfortunately the number of shows left keeps shrinking and shrinking, with only a handful of shows have 7 or more episodes left which means it’s going to be a very boring, reality filled spring. I know many of you are always wondering if your favorite show is new this week or not, so I’ve gone ahead and included some of Ausiello’s Strike Chart below to help out readers of The Blot Says…


For more spoilers and hints of what’s to come on the small screen, check out The Ausiello Report every Wednesday at TVGuide.com.

Strike Chart

30 Rock:
Ten episodes have been produced. Ten episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

The Big Bang Theory:

Eight episodes have been produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

Bones:

Twelve episodes have been produced. Nine episodes have aired, so there are three left.

Brothers & Sisters:

Twelve episodes have been produced. Ten episodes have aired, so there are two left.

Carpoolers:

Thirteen episodes have been produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are five left.

CSI:

Eleven episodes have been produced. Eleven episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

CSI: Miami:

Thirteen episodes have been produced. Thirteen episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

CSI: NY:

Fourteen episodes have been produced. Thirteen episodes have aired, so there is one left.

Desperate Housewives:

Ten episodes have been produced. Ten episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

Dirty Sexy Money:

Thirteen episodes have been produced. Ten episodes have aired, so there are three left.

ER:

Thirteen episodes have been produced. Thirteen episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

Gossip Girl:

Thirteen episodes have been produced. Thirteen episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

Grey's Anatomy:

Eleven episodes have been produced. Eleven episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

Heroes:

Eleven episodes have been produced. Eleven episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

House:

Twelve episodes have been produced. Nine episodes have aired, so there are three left.

How I Met Your Mother:

Eleven episodes have been produced. Eleven episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

Jericho:

Seven episodes have been produced. None have aired yet, so there are seven episodes left.

Law & Order: SVU:

Fourteen episodes have been produced. Fourteen episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

Lost:

Eight episodes have been produced. None have aired yet, so there are eight episodes left.

Men in Trees:

Nineteen episodes have been produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are 11 left.

My Name is Earl:

Thirteen episodes have been produced. Thirteen episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

NCIS:

Eleven episodes have been produced. Eleven episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

Numbers:

Twelve episodes have been produced. Twelve have aired, so there are zero left.

The Office:

Twelve half-hour episodes have been produced. Twelve half-hour episodes have aired, so there are zero half-hour episodes left.

Private Practice:

Nine episodes have been produced. Nine episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

Pushing Daisies:

Nine episodes have been produced. Nine episodes have aired, so there are zero left.

Reaper:

Thirteen episodes have been produced. Ten episodes have aired, so there are three left.

Scrubs:

Eleven episodes have been produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are five left.

The Shield:

All 13 season-seven episodes have been produced. None have aired (the final season gets underway in '08), so there are 13 left.

Smallville:

Fifteen episodes have been produced. Nine episodes have aired, so there are six left.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

Nine episodes have been produced. Three episodes have aired, so there are six left.

Ugly Betty:

Thirteen episodes have been produced. Thirteen episodes have aired, so there are zero left.