Very good review spoony, you don’t need to tell us about good games, you’ve already told us about all the shit!

ha! you are right, watching cosmos stoned would be a lot of fun i guess :P
and im a big mythbusters fan, too! that show is so awesome^^
i think you did a great job recommending gifts

I want root beer.

Totally getting Cosmos… for me! Screw gifting that.

SCIENCE!

SCIENCE!

Your guide was brief, but good!

I need to track down “Cosmos”, I had no idea it was like that.

Lol i’ll get cosmos too… just to watch it stoned! thanks for the tip spoony :D

(didn’t know you were a stoner… nice :P)

Hmmm… Cosmos, you say? Sounds interesting…

I’m a pretty shit gift-giver, myself.

ha ha :D ya gotta love how nerdy this is, to be expected of course. But it does reveal how diverse your tastes are, Mr. Spoony. bravo!

also, you ROCK for knowing about the Room!! that’s one of my alltime favorite movies!!

Spoony where did your tast go the red dwarf back to earth was not worth a buy is anything go for the Red Dwarf box set with season 1-8 off amazon or play.com.
Good idea with the audio book stuff though.

Spoony where did your tast go the red dwarf back to earth was not worth a buy is anything go for the Red Dwarf box set with season 1-8 off amazon or play.com.
Good idea with the audio book stuff though.

Amen on the Mythbusters part. Lately I use it, Top Gear, and Ghost Hunters as background noise, although Top Gear can be harder to ignore. Conan O’ Brien is also nice, although it’s more of a “half paying attention” show than background noise. Cosmos, even, is a nice “half paying attention” show when doing things like pushing through dungeon levels on Persona 4.

Historically I’m terrible with gifts, so I appreciate the video. <3

Toodles.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you SPOONY! The best of luck in the new year!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you SPOONY! The best of luck in the new year!

Rifftrax is Awesome. The one for Twilight had me in stitches from the very second they opened up the commentary and kept me laughing, or at the very least chuckling, the entire way through.

You’re probably a better gift giver than me, since you actually do “keep in mind who you’re buying for”. I tend to give people things that I like, instead of understanding their tastes. Being lazy, my solution has been to only buy things for people who are like me, rather than try something crazy like learn to empathize.

Two words – Baldur’s Gate.

Preferably the whole series if you can find it. Its amazingly well done and pretty much timeless. Great story, REALLY great characters (especially with some restoration mods) and fun gameplay. Neverwinter Nights did not hold the same magical charm about it that BG did for me, and I think ANY RPG or even D&D fan would appreciate this game series. It IS using 2E rules, which I’ve never done an actual tabletop session of in my life, been a strict 3E guy. Really that doesn’t at all get in the way of your enjoyment of the games, I was able to follow along perfectly well throughout the entire series.

Definitely a recommended game!

Oh man, can’t believe you mentioned ‘The Room’, I seen a midnight screening of that a few years ago in this great old movie house in my town. They show great midnight movies, ‘Rivers Edge’, ‘Eraserhead’, the ‘Room’, was by far the worst, but yet still so awsome!

Give the gift that keeps on giving. Giving you stomach ulcers, any way.

PHANTASMAGORIA!

Give the gift that keeps on giving. Giving you stomach ulcers, any way.

PHANTASMAGORIA!

I’m the same way about Mythbusters, Spoons.

Gotta say when you pulled out a copy of blackadder and red dwarf it brought a smile to my face. Two of my favourite classic comedy shows.

“Get your guy friend a copy of twilight”
“WTF is this?”
“Don’t worry i got you the Rifftrax for it aswell”

lmao, genius

If you want British comedy, you should try the “Bottom” series…it’s effing hilarious.

Noah we need to play Uncharted 2 with blu tooth headsets

Blackadder and Red Dwarf are awsome! Great list. I have a bunch of your suggestions myself. One awsome classic PC game series is the Thief series. 1 and 2 were awsome. 3 wasn’t too bad, but the first 2 were a lot better. Overall, it’s a great series. Playing Thief 2 now. Got it on Amazon for like $3. You can’t beat it!

Is that Dragon Quest 8 I see on your shelf? Good man, spoony, good man

rifftrax are awesome actually going to sit back and watch ID4 rifftrax tonight and hopefully watch Drag Me To Hell rifftrax tomorrow night.

Am I the only person who actively enjoys getting giftcards and cash?

It helps that I am ridiculously hard to buy gifts for, I suppose. For my 18th birthday this year, my parents had to ask me for suggestions on what to give me, and I had to spend a couple of days thinking about it.

Am I the only person who actively enjoys getting giftcards and cash?

It helps that I am ridiculously hard to buy gifts for, I suppose. For my 18th birthday this year, my parents had to ask me for suggestions on what to give me, and I had to spend a couple of days thinking about it.

Great suggestion there Spoony. Have you ever watched Big bang theory I’m sure you’d like it? I dunno if there’s dvd of it out yet though hmm…Anyway, check it out.

An American who likes Blackadder? My God sir, I do tip my hat to you

I’m definitely going to get Cosmos at some point. Carl Sagan is the Bob Ross of SCIENCE!

P.S….on thing you forgot to mention that’s good for geek and nerd friends are movie/game soundtracks! What a great gift to give the Last Starfighter soundtrack along with the movie? Or the Back to the Future soundtrack (one of my favs). If they are a fan of a particular game, say the Final Fantasy series, the albums are very popular and it might be something that your average gamer never considered owning. If they like the game, they’ll like the soundtrack.

P.S….on thing you forgot to mention that’s good for geek and nerd friends are movie/game soundtracks! What a great gift to give the Last Starfighter soundtrack along with the movie? Or the Back to the Future soundtrack (one of my favs). If they are a fan of a particular game, say the Final Fantasy series, the albums are very popular and it might be something that your average gamer never considered owning. If they like the game, they’ll like the soundtrack.

Speaking of brittish comedy;
If you like brittish comedy like red dwarf, and is a fan of movies including nick frost and simon pegg, who made Shaun of the dead & Hot Fuzz. Try watching Spaced! a two seasoned mass fun sitcom!

I found this to be a great guide, spoony! Luckily most of my friends are nerdy like I am so a lot of these kind of ideas work. My roomate is a huge fan of rifftrax and has some of the old mystery science theater episode dvds. My dad is big into older movies so used books stores work well, last year we got him a mel brooks movie collection. This year I got him a mug from the Christmas Story house with a leg lamp on it, saying “it’s a major award.”

You can always get creative if you have no money too I’d say. All of my friends and I are going through college expenses so we do silly little things. One year my friend wrapped up a brick in a box and gave it to me..you’d be surprised how much use i’ve gotten out of it. We also do left-right games which have all junky prizes, one time my dad putting in a potato. As long as there is some attempt I think it’s appreciated

im getting cosmos right now, then I am going to get stoned. Thanks for the advice Spoony!

“The whippersnappers don’t know what good games are today.”
So very true Spoony.

Good tips, Spoony.
Buying gifts is not always easy (or never).
When I was a kid, I once bought my sister (with my weekly allowance) a book about
cats. “Why did you buy THAT?” she said, looking very displeased.
“I bought it because I’ve always thought your eyes were cat-like”, I told her.
Her reply came immediately and hard: “Shit off!!!”
She threw away the book and didn’t speak to me for over 3 weeks!

Now, although I was a kid at the time, I think this little anecdote goes to show that you
can’t always get it right, even if you buy a gift with the person you’re buying it for in mind!

Happy Xmas, Spoony and everyone!

Good tips, Spoony.
Buying gifts is not always easy (or never).
When I was a kid, I once bought my sister (with my weekly allowance) a book about
cats. “Why did you buy THAT?” she said, looking very displeased.
“I bought it because I’ve always thought your eyes were cat-like”, I told her.
Her reply came immediately and hard: “Shit off!!!”
She threw away the book and didn’t speak to me for over 3 weeks!

Now, although I was a kid at the time, I think this little anecdote goes to show that you
can’t always get it right, even if you buy a gift with the person you’re buying it for in mind!

Happy Xmas, Spoony and everyone!

good choice of root beer. Viva la A&W.

You cheeky bastard, we have good taste because we watch you? Fair enough, it’s the truth.

I hate this time of year I can ever find anyting fro my mother or my sister mostly becuse every time I sak my mother she says that I don’t really need to get someting but I whant to, and my sister, god trying to find stuff for her is extremly hard becuse she whants stuff that ether cost much or things that is really hard to find. GOD DAMNIT I hate this time of the year.

they may seem like a waste of money, but Homestar Runner DVDs make for fantastic background noise, and there’s enough extras on the DVDs to make them worth getting anyway (the DVD exclusive emails are fucking hysterical). right now, all their DVDs are half off, and by taking advantage of their bundles, you can get every DVD they’ve put out (which makes for a comprehensive collection of almost everything they’ve done) for $45. otherwise, the SBEmail 50 Greatest Hits DVD makes a perfect gift and is currently only $6 if you buy it with at least one other DVD.

they may seem like a waste of money, but Homestar Runner DVDs make for fantastic background noise, and there’s enough extras on the DVDs to make them worth getting anyway (the DVD exclusive emails are fucking hysterical). right now, all their DVDs are half off, and by taking advantage of their bundles, you can get every DVD they’ve put out (which makes for a comprehensive collection of almost everything they’ve done) for $45. otherwise, the SBEmail 50 Greatest Hits DVD makes a perfect gift and is currently only $6 if you buy it with at least one other DVD.

I agree on everything you said about MythBusters
It’s getting better again? HOLY SHIT do I have stuff do to now.
…I regard it my favorite television show ever.

Well, I must comment on the most awesomest gift i’ve ever got from a friend. You know, being a geek as i believe pretty much everyone here is, i really like drawing and can pull off some rather decent pieces. I’ve given megalomaniac drawings to some friends with great results, but lately i got for my birthday this totally awesome drawing, from a very very dear friend of mine (she also likes to draw a lot, and is pretty good at it). It represents pretty much each and every inside joke we’ve ever made for the time we’ve known each other. Not only is it hilarious, but it’s also just so heart warming, and i can’t possibly think of anything better than that: Something unique that’s bulging with your personality. Give it a try ^^.

Kudos on the Brit culture there Spoony, I don’t hear of many North Americans who’re into the stuff that’s on TV pretty much everyday here in the UK.

And I’m sorry to hear that your Pratchett books are overpriced, that ain’t cool. Everyone needs to read Pratchett.

First time commenting, but when it comes to games for christmas, people always think I own a ps3 or xbox or wii!

Seriously, go to the 20 euro section of any game shop, pick up almost anything there, and it’s nearly almost always better than the 60 euro, overpriced bloom-effects-so-bright-your-eyeballs-melt-out-of-your-skull big name title. Most of the games there were already hugely successful (Starcraft, Diablo, Deus Ex, Max Payne, found a copy of Thief Gold as well, very good ^_^), and can run on almost any pc with xp or vista on. It really just depends how much of a graphics whore the person you’re buying it for is (and whether they like that genre of game). Most of the people I know don’t watch tv much though which sort of stops me from buying dvds : /

First time commenting, but when it comes to games for christmas, people always think I own a ps3 or xbox or wii!

Seriously, go to the 20 euro section of any game shop, pick up almost anything there, and it’s nearly almost always better than the 60 euro, overpriced bloom-effects-so-bright-your-eyeballs-melt-out-of-your-skull big name title. Most of the games there were already hugely successful (Starcraft, Diablo, Deus Ex, Max Payne, found a copy of Thief Gold as well, very good ^_^), and can run on almost any pc with xp or vista on. It really just depends how much of a graphics whore the person you’re buying it for is (and whether they like that genre of game). Most of the people I know don’t watch tv much though which sort of stops me from buying dvds : /

For British comedy, if it isn’t Peep Show then I just don’t want to know.

Also, the MythBusters things… I sometimes play yours or the Nerd’s game reviews in the background whilst I paint. It’s weird what can help a person to focus.

Did not know you were an Audible fan, I’ve been using them since I 1st heard about them on This Week in Tech.

Did not know you were an Audible fan, I’ve been using them since I 1st heard about them on This Week in Tech.

The Cosmos Box-Set, eh? I remember back in the day I got a VHS tape of one episode for Hanukkah when I was younger.

Maybe I should get the box set….

so no more videos til after new years?

You should just download audio books on piratebay.
I know one that is called ,Good Omens. It’s about that the antichrist is born and saddistic(or what you call it) try to kidnap him just 5min when he’s born but take the wrong boy. Also the antichrist is supposed to decide if armageddon should come.

Growing up in a younger generation, I love nearly all of the older games I have played. I felt when I beat Megaman and Super Castlevania 4 after watching UWW, and I am really hoping for some points to get some classic games on PSN and Virtual Console. The fact that we have easy and cheap access to games of previous years from our own homes is just awesome.

Bookmans is an awesome store. I think they are only in AZ. You brought back so many memories when you showed The Last Starfighter. I havent seen that movie in 10 years. I really fun movie.

Bookmans is an awesome store. I think they are only in AZ. You brought back so many memories when you showed The Last Starfighter. I havent seen that movie in 10 years. I really fun movie.

Another great gift idea: BBC’s ‘Planet Earth’…I’m sure we’re all well aware of this amazing doc but it definitely deserves to given this Christmas (preferably on BLU-RAY).

Happy Holidays all!

The way you explained the Audiobooks and their prices, you momentarily sounded just like the Late Dr. Sagan. “Some are only $12.99.” The cadence was a perfect match. That cracked me up. “Cosmos” actually got me where I am today. I studied History and Anthropology for my degrees, and the combination of history and evolutionary science that Dr. Sagan presented inspired me. So that is an EXCELLENT gift idea.

Been watching some Hammer films! In fact, Hammer films are great for those that like atmospheric horror, big name stars, and plenty of blood. Most of these films can be found on Netflix though really difficult to track down at any local store though purchasing them on Amazon or eBay might be the next best thing.

I highly recommend buying some Hammer classics starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee most notably the Dracula films for Lee fans. There is a nice DVD package from Warner Home Video called 4 Film Favorites: Dracula that has four of the best titles in the series including Horror of Dracula, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Taste the Blood of Dracula, and Dracula A.D. 1972. I’m sure the rest of them are best seen from Anchor Bay if they still exist!

As for Cushing fans, it’s all about the Frankenstein movies that can be bought individually!

Being of a newer generation, I find that PS2 shelf in the background fascinating. Maybe you could do a v-log in the style of your “check out my bookshelf” video? That’d be really cool, if you ask me.

I see you have Ace Combat 4 & 5. I also own these games. What is your opinion on them? They are two of my favorite games ever.

Hey Spoony, if you like British comedies, check out the IT Crowd. Its absolutely halarious.

When he started talking about british humor i was defenatly pulling for Red Dwarf~! I may get that for my parents, once a week we would watch Brit-Wit on pbs as sort of a family get together event. I think they would enjoy that. I would watch Brit-Wit all the way thrugh to the end of the old black and white Dr. Who episodes.

Points for Xbox live / PSN store.

Planet Earth Blu-ray (avoid the US Discovery channel version and try getting the UK BBC version, it’s better quality).

Planescape Torment got a rerelease just lately: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plane-Scape-Torment-PC-DVD/dp/B002TOKQIG/ref=pd_nr_vg_h__54?ie=UTF8&s=videogames

Noah,I can’t help but stare at your vidya collection the whole time you’re talking.

There’s the two Syberia games… Siren, The Punisher, POP:Sands of Time, Advent Rising… Is dat sum Red Dead Revolver I’m seeing? =) Ratchet & Clank:UYA,I think I see a bit of the R&C:Going Commando box on the top shelf… The grayish box on the very left is most likely an Ace Combat game… Max Payne… Teh HaloZ, GTAs, MGS: Subsitence, Guitar Heroes… Persona 3… Nah,scratch that,that looks more like P3:Fez. The two bigass LE sets look like DQ8 and the DDS Deluxe Set (the red thing between them is probably Nocturne). And lemme tell you,if you actually have the complete Deluxe Set,you’re one lucky bastard. I finally completed mine a couple of weeks ago,and it’s my pride and joy. :3

I’ma lookin’,and I’ma likin’. =) You’ve got good taste.

PS: FUCK YES BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA IS THE BEST GIFT EVER.

I haven’t commented in a while, but i was suprirsed by your mention of Cosmos. I’m watching it right now and it’s amazing, and yeah, it’s great to watch stoned!. Love the music too, Vangelis rules the Cosmos!.

Since it appears others are providing holiday gift guides, figure I might as well throw in a few games / books / movies that I enjoyed:

Books:
+ Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. It isn’t the be-all end-all of Sci-Fi… but it’s good. Really, really good (IMO, anyways). First book is the best of the series (again, IMO) and the quality is – while still decent – decreases as time goes on, but always a good read.
+ Dune and Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert. I can’t in good heart recommend any of the later books, but these two were greatly enjoyed by me. Dune starts off kinda slow, but if you can get past that, good read.

Movies / DVD’s:
+ Airplane! It’s a pretty good comedy. Plus, how many PG movies do you know of that give you one second of full-screen jubblies not belonging to a man?
+ Band of Brothers. Sure, most people who want it already do, but it’s still a good series to mention and keep in mind.
+ Married… With Children. A love it / hate it series. If you love it, they’re still releasing “new” seasons on DVD so go on and expand your collection.

Games:
+ Brave Fencer Musashiden. It’s a pretty enjoyable game on the PSX, that happened to have the poor luck of being released just a few months before Ocarina of Time.
+ Baldur’s Gate / Planescape Torment. Black Isle at its finest.
+ Deus Ex. Forget Bioshock, this is where it’s at. Have fun gaining experience.

Holy crap, I forgot Planet of the Dinosaurs even existed. I used to have a a VHS copy of that waaaay back in the day. In fact, it might still be in my basement somewhere…

okay first off your carl sageon rules man. i swear you should use it in a review or skit.

second we are so much alike it’s not even funny. i mean your funnier then me by far but i mean seriously dude i love the last starfighter so much i modeled the gunstar in 3d max. and i am a raging john carpenter fan. not so much into board games and i don’t get to read as much as i wish to but i do love our book store down the road. i grew up with much of what you grew up on and feel the same way about the things you mentioned.

i am glade your around to represent people like us and speak in the ideals of what it is we hold dear and why. this guide really gave me a new found respect for you in so many ways. take care spoony and seriously thank you for this.

Wow, your book choices, wow, A Song of Ice and Fire, the Dresden Files and Discworld? Jesus, I pretty much own, and love, all of those series’. In fact, you should do a book review, break the mold of your interweb companions and do something off the wall and awesome, do multiple book reviews, they would kick serious amounts of ass.

Here’s the thing about getting someone a gift card:

1. Unless its for a friend or fellow worker don’t make this the only gift you try to get for someone you care about.

2. If, unfortunately, this is only gift you can get for your loved one keep this as a last resort, like if you can’t find that special gift in any stores in your area and you can’t get it on the Internet before Christmas.

3. Know where this person likes to shop, if you must get him/her a gift card. It makes no sense to get a hardcore gamer gift cards for Hot Topic or Pier One Imports when the money would be better spent on GameStop, Game Crazy, or Hell, even Wal-Mart.

Stratego’s a good 2-player game IMO. Plus it’s pretty cheap. I got the bookshelf collector’s edition from Target for like $15.00. That or Risk is always fun. My dad I can always get a movie with one of his favorite actors in it, such as Christopher Walken or Schwarzenegger. My mom, probably like a Hitchcock or Bogart movie is always a good bet. Everyone else get’s a dollar store tchotchke. Merry Christmas!

I’m the only kid in my school who appreciates old games like you do. I’d take a copy of Zaxxon over Halo any day of the freakin’ week!!!

There’s that crazy $60 Risk Onyx edition that they’re selling at B&N. That would be a great buy especially since the map is more correct. ^_^

I thought borderlands was a good game to . . . until the end. That game has the worst fucking ending i have ever had the misfortune of being exposed to. Seriously if anyone is still playing borderlands and you haven’t beaten it yet, stop now. It’s not worth the hours of crying you will spend afterwards. I kid you not the ending is so bad i would imagine it’s what being raped feels like; because that’s what happens . . . RAPE. Rape of the story, rape of your character, rape of the game play. Just a giant cluster fuck of rape.

The worst thing to is that they give you one final quest at the end, which baits you into thinking that there might possible be more to the game, that there is a possibility that you will unlock extra content and keep playing by completing this mission. but its all a lie. That last quest is the insult people add to injury. You don’t even get a cut scene, more story or anything worth your wild. Its simply a fucking waste of your time.

BTW if you’re playing the game currently, here’s some consolation. The game is over at level 30. Thats it fucking over.

post anything, we need just one more posting to get that annoying commerical thing of the front page!!

ROOTBEER!!

War of the Ring! That’s my favorite board game of all time. It really feels like you’re in Middle Earth. The definite LotR game in my opinion.

I never would have guessed Spoony had played that game..

Fine I’ll go see rifftrax *5 minutes later* this is awesome, but I have no money, maybe I can watch MST3K *watches a few clips* new winter break plan watch the first couple of seasons of MST3K, from the library because I don’t have a job.

I gotta be honest Spoony, I don’t see why cash is a bad gift. That may be due to the sheer incompitence of my family, however.

Also, I’d say getting a gift card is lower then cash, because its sending a “I don’t trust you with real money” vibe. Again, its probably just me.

You freaking rock for recommending Carl Sagan’s Cosmos! I love that series as well as Red Dwarf and Black Adder! Great suggestions!

Nice advice. And Blackadder Rocks! :D

Boardgames can be a pretty clever gift, since you often benefit from them as much as the recipient does. One of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten was the Betrayal At House One The Hill game my sister got me for my birthday a few months back. It’s a fantastic game, but I can’t recommend it as a gift right now, as it’s out of print and difficult to find for less than $120 or so. Word on the street is that it’s getting a reprint and an update in 2010, though, so that’s good news. Anyway, if you can swing it, it’s pretty awesome.

As far as affordable games go, Shadows Over Camelot remains one of my favorite co-op games, plays 3-7 but without at least 4 the game will pretty much just chew you up and spit you out. For smaller groups, Red November is pretty fun, even with just two people.

Guess you haven’t heard that it looks like Red Dwarf is coming back. The scripts for the new season have been approved, and they’re looking to start filming next year.

Some great ideas in there, Spoony. I guess I’m lucky that my mom and sister pretty much only want gift cards. But my mom’s always buying books off Amazon, and I never thought about just going to a second hand shop and finding her some used books in good shape. As for my sister, I usually give her money, but fold the bills into Origami shapes. Which ticks her off because she likes the nicer ones and doesn’t want to unfold them, but she also wants to use the money. :p

I pretty much do the same thing with book gifts. I stick mostly to classic literature, humor, or trivia/information.
@LucasChad: I’ve found good Hammer Horror movies only once ever in a store, but it was a nice set. It was 4 of the Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing Dracula movies on 2 discs. A pretty nice starter.

hey spoony, i see you got quite the video game collection behind you. you think in a future vid you can show off your collection and maybe tell us what your faves are from your collection? i think that would be a great vid.

Some really good gift choices, Specially the Black Adder DVD.Never seen Red Dwarf yet, but it looks like it’s worth a view.

thanks for the info bro happy holidays to you Im a little distracted…my friend blew up my pager today…I was so worried that I left the pawn shop in the middle of a transaction of 400+ dollars I got home as fast as I could not realizing I never recieved the money order…he wasnt at home I walk inside then realize I didnt get the money order omg talk about stressed…he is alright he just wanted in the house he forgot his key, me dropping everything for my friend…was that stupidity??? I mean I was an hours walk away and when he pages me it means come home blah anyway I feel like a complete idiot and I have no idea if the pawn shop is going to, why am I saying this i.d.k. I worry about this country sometimes, gah I hope I dont have to call the police…or worse my dad…like something just made me leave I hadnt even got my camera back she managed to stop me and give me that but didnt say anything about the money order maybe I had a vacant look on my face cause I thought my friend was in danger…so I dont know whats going to happen gah

lol we have he same tastes. I do the same exact thing with mythbusters too when im working

Funny that you mentioned Big Trouble and Starfighter as gifts; Amazon’s list of most-sold DVDs has them rated pretty high. I’ve heard that, despite logical skepticism, the World of Warcraft Board Game is good… As for oldschool DOS games, a good lesser-known title that I really love is Stonekeep. Near the end the puzzles can be a bit confusing, but nothing nearly so retarded as the end to Phantasmagoria ;D

Happy holidays, Spoony!

Their Rifftrax of The Matrix Reloaded hooked me.

You can buy Cosmos on Amazon.co.uk for £18.48 (~$30) as opposed to the insane overprice on DiscoveryStore ($129.95) or on Amazon.com ($74.99). But remember, Amazon.co.uk is located in Great Britain, so you would have to consider the shipment as well. Another thing is that the DVD´s are Region 2, so make sure that you americans have a compatible DVD player. Finally, the version on Amazon.co.uk does not look like the one in this video, as it is more like a big plastic ordinary DVD-box with 5 CD:s instead of a hard box cover with 7 CD:s with content I am not quite sure of, but you will get your 13 episodes and revisions with Carl Sagan and the introduction with Ann Druyan.

I don´t know the exact differences with these two versions, but I know that if you are only interested in the 13 episodes, then the Amazon.co.uk version may satisfy your need (although I will not guarantee it). I should know, since I own it!

You do know that they’re planning filming the next series of Red Dwarf next year, right? Thought I’d mention. (And rock on for mentioning those two UK shows!)

Is there really a Beetlejuice system? …Incidentally, I got that movie for a friend’s birthday, almost exactly a year ago (her birthday’s December 2). I like to think that I’m really good at getting gifts, but sometimes I don’t know…

I don’t tend to give books, just because I’m the sort of person who’s extremely picky about what books she’ll read (I mostly just stick to series, since I know I already like them and whatnot) and because of that, I’m pretty bad at figuring out what others would like.

DVDs are a good bet for me. I gave my brother a copy of Watchmen for his birthday, and last Christmas I gave my dad the first season of Burn Notice (a show that, every season, we sit down and watch together–he likes wry humor and spies).

I also tend to do a lot of “home-made”, “personalized” gifts. I must’ve given my friends about three or four custom CDs, each. And I mean the whole deal–a song mix specifically suited to each one’s tastes, an album cover and track list created using Photoshop that took hours, and so on and so forth. I’m also pretty fond of home-made wrapping paper (I detest 90% of the store-bought crap)–I’ll use either computer paper (if the gift’s small enough) or butcher paper, and then I’ll either draw or just WRITE all over the outside of the packaging using sharpies (incidentally, if you have an artist friend, or even a friend that just likes sharpies, the huge color-pack is a fucking awesome gift).

I need to check out some more Rifftrax, got the one for 300, which is awesome. Only way I can get through that movie.

I remember The Last Starfighter. Not from my childhood (well, kinda), but my dad really liked it and bought it for my family. We sat down to watch it, and the only ones who enjoyed it were me and my dad, everyone else was kind of like “wtf?”

Mythbusters is bad when they do certain myths. They tend to be either naive or overlook certain obvious things. The ninja myths was a pretty bad one, and I find any myth pertaining to guns really hard to watch. For instance, my dad and I were watching the one where they were testing what was bulletproof (iPod, pizza boxes, etc) and they tested all of the weapons at 10 yds, which is ok, but distance can make a huge difference.

Hah. Spoony, your taste is pretty much flawless. SCIENCE! Mythbusters, Blackadder, Monthy Python, the games you recommend, the series you watch etc. Id recommend the same things to anyone, and if I had enough cash I would buy the same gifts.

Wait you’re a Terry Practhett fan. I honestly didn’t geuss that! But, this does bring the need to ask one question then.. Why haven’;t you reviewed the Discworld games?

For my birthday last week a friend of mine got me Twilight on Blu-ray (i’m a guy) I got a group of my friends together, had a few beers and really enjoyed making fun of it. I liked the film in the sense that it was so bad its good ( sort of like Nicholas Cage’s The Wicker Man) the rifftrax for it made it even better, probably the funniest commentary on the site.

Also, love Blackadder, have been meaning to buy it. Probably after my Star Trek obsession subsides a little bit.

As another big fan of mythbusters I would like to see your top 10 myths.

Wicker Man had a freaking hilarious Rifftrax, and I managed to find the DVD for that for like three bucks in a used/bargain section of a video store. (They had like ten copies of it.)

Your mention of “The Last Starfighter” gave me a reason to post the Full game on the site, I’ve linked it in the Website section of this post. I’m not affiliated with the Rogue Synapse, the creators of this little gem, but I can say that they’ve done some great work in recreating the game proper. They’ve also been working on “Space Paranoids” from the TRON film and many others.

Anyway, good guide. Worth the watch.

You have a great taste when it comes to board games Spoony. Twilight struggle is a great two player game =)

Dude, never give a gift of something someone can download for free. Not only does it make you look like a t00l, the person receiving the gift won’t value it very much because it’s just a torrent click away. Some say that the best gifts are those that involve a lot of effort. Finding and downloading that super rare old game, or every episode of someone’s favourite show says much more about you as a person than just spending some bucks on something at a store. If you must buy media make sure it is something normally unobtainable on the Bittorent Broadcasting Corp. and even rare on the normal distribution channels so you can again show some effort in having to obtain the gift.

Remember in a world of plenty time is more valuable than money so show people you care by spending time on them, instead of money.

To bad you don’t have any DVD’s Spoony (not trying to being an asskisser) ’cause i have a friend that would love a Spoony DVD.

I think I’m the only kid that actually likes old-skool games.

Good overview of presents for people but as a Brit I have to address two things.

Blackadder is one of the best, if not the best British sitcom. The 1st series is pretty weak, but 2, 3 and 4 are all awesome. It’s not anything like Mr. Bean; while Mr. Bean is very much slapstick and a bit cartoonish, Blackadder is very mature, dry and cynical; Rowan Atkinson plays a magnificent bastard character from various time periods, in each one he’s a distant relative of the last Blackadder. It even veers into the poignant in the last episode of Series 4, which is set in the 1st World War.

Red Dwarf Series 1-6 are the only ones I’ll recognise as ‘canon’. 7,8 and Back to Earth are TERRIBLE. Back to Earth is just so bad. They only had one of the original writers, and the remaining writer sucked and just wasn’t funny in any way. The plot to Back to Earth; Series 6, 7 and 8 are ignored… for some reason… and the crew use the DNA of a giant teleporting squid to travel back to earth…. SCIENCE!
However the Earth they travel to is a parallel universe where Red Dwarf is a tv series, and Craig Charles (The guy who plays Lister) is now on Coronation Street (Long running British soap). So the crew go to Coronation Street and Lister meets the actor who used to play Lister in the tv series of Red Dwarf. How does the plot resolve? Do you honestly think I watched beyond this point as Doug Naylor masturbated himself into self-referential camera-winking fourth-wall implosion? I’ll make up a far more satisfactory ending for you off the top of my head; upon Craig Charles and Dave Lister meeting, they both go into a choreographed musical number singing ‘Me and my Shadow’ before the world explodes, and the end credits rolling over images of Doug Naylor wiping his arse with money and giving it to fans at a science-fiction convention.
If you like Red Dwarf in-canon, DON’T touch Back to Earth, unless you want to see the crew driving a VW Beetle painted as a Starbug, Kryten suffering from Mechanoid middle age spread, and the Cat getting attacked by rubber tentacles and Blue Planet stock footage while wearing a pink glam-rock jumpsuit that Marc Bolan would shake his head at. It’s so, so bad. And it’s nothing like Blade-runner; I don’t know what Mescalin is, but I’m guessing Spoony’s eaten a lot of it if he’s saying Back to Earth is in any way grungy, film-noir, dystopian, well-directed or interestingly plotted.

So, erm, Spoon, about those reviews. Erm…they are coming, right? RIGHT?! Oh dear…

Oh what’s this? Spoony observing how rare two player nerdy board games are when I’m reminding myself I really need to start advertising how the one I publish for an attempted living is on sale for cost for the rest of the month? Everything would come together great if not for the fact that wow, these here ad spots have gotten pricey since the last time I was pushing this here.

Seriously though, in an almost totally non-shill fashion? The Massive Vs. The Masses is worth checking out if you actually are looking for a 1 on 1 nerdy game you can set up on an end table and knock-out in maybe 20 minutes. Plus, you know, fun and Godzilla flavored.

A&W root beer is my favorite soda ever

hey spoony. If you go back and play uncharted 2 multiplayer add me as a friend on PSN. My handle is Snakefreeman. Any other spoony fans that want to be my friends are welcome to contact me too. I need friends.

Books are around $12 over there? They go for around $35 over here. But yea, books and videos are a good idea. I sometimes give cinema gift cards because some of my friends are always complaining that they never have the spear cash to go to the movies. So I go, here, have 56 bucks and go see a couple of movies.

Anyway, grate video. Telling people to keep there audience in mind is probably the best advice you can give. It’s not like you can just suggest a specific thing that EVERYONE will like.

For people that are into Sci-Fi Books, HUGO books are always a joy to read.

thepiratebay + Blank CD = Cheap gift
I’m going to give my friends a complete NES ROM set

is dragon age good on PS3 pls get back too me, great vid

I think Spoony you are good at recommending items more than you realize. Went to my local library to see if Carl Sagan’s Cosmos was in stock; for my luck, it was. I am only on disc one, but already thinking of buying the series. I like the way Carl Sagan explains his subjects. He doesn’t condense a series of facts together in a way that a normal or average person would not understand, which he explains in an appropriate and detailed level.

As well, the other items you recommended, not bad gift ideas. : )

P.S. I mean really, how can anybody go wrong with MST3K?

Carcassone isn’t actually a bord game its these little square pieces that form castles, roads, fields and other shit. If you got all 6 expansions and 4 players it can last over 2 hours and usually a lot more.

it is steamjakko, but instead of having the board all laid out for you at the start you build it as you play. Like heroscape in a smaller sense

who are you kidding? you never went to castleton…do you use that t-shirt to pick up chicks at the grocery store or do you mostly rely on the “skydiving grandma” story?

Hey, “the Other side of the Holidays” as a closing sentence remembered me a lot of the way the Babylon Podcast crew end their recordings.

Since Spoony is a fan of Babylon 5, as I am myself, I am sure he knows about that podcast. If not, just download Itunes and search for it on the Itunes Store -downloading the podcast is free, as with all podcasts- or go to http://www.babylonpodcast.com/

In fairness Carl Sagan was stoned alot himself.

I own a copy of that same “The Last Starfighter” DVD; it’s my #2 favorite movie of all time (barely beating out “Iron Eagle” and right behind “Return of the Jedi”). If you know a sci-fi fan who enjoys that movie, get them the DVD (less than $20) and go ahead and bundle it with the book (which can be found on Amazon.Com for a pittance).

Good suggestions, Spoony; I might have to track down that StarCraft board game for my Dad.

Fuck yeah, Spoony! Representin’ the Bookmans!

Hey Spoony, thanks for introducing me to Rifftrax man! I’ve just watched the Twilight episode which was awesome and am now moving onto Transformers and then The Crystal Skull. Sweet.

Cheers from the UK

@112 Mazeru

If your talking “canon” with Red Dwarf then series 1 and 2 (which are probably the best) are COMPLETELY different from any of the series which followed and it’s never really mentioned appart from a Star Wars-esq scrolling text at the start of the 3rd series. Plus you can pick holes in pretty much half the episodes, especially the ones involving time travel. I’m not saying that you’re wrong in dismissing later series, but I just dont think you can really site continuity when Red Dwarf’s involved.

Like your writing style though dude, and Blackadder is killer.

Two words about DRM, Spoony: the analog hole.

@130

Yeah, I’d agree Sinbad. You can’t really begin to pick apart that show because none of it will make any sense, but it’s great, so just ignore the gaping plot holes, the quality of the show makes it pretty easy. I don’t get why people hate on Series 7 and 8, I think they are fine. Different, but still good. I can understand Back to Earth though, I enjoyed the parts in space but every part on Earth was pretty weak, it just didn’t feel right. Nostalgia pretty much held Back to Earth together for me, but it had it’s moments to enjoy.

And glad to see that Blackadder can be appreciated by Americans too, it is a fantastic show – albeit with a rather strange first series compared to the other three. And I’ll have to check out this “Rifftrax”, I’ve never heard of it but it sounds interesting, and some comments seem to enjoy it.

Interesting stuff Spoony.

Carl Sagan’s Cosmos is the greatest documentary ever. That dvd boxset was a gift for Christmas a few years ago, haha. As for the ‘bazaarness’ of the show, that was intended in order to make science interesting to the mainstream, and it was successful. He mentions it in his book adaption of Cosmos. I particularly love his style of teaching; instead of the cliche classroom etiquette of a full blown lecture, he turns it into an artform, and as I said, it appeals to more casual people. As for myself, it’s inspiration as an astronomy major.

You’re impression of him was dead on, voice and all!

@ people saying “don’t give gifts that you can download”

Consider how likely it is that, being a Spoony fan, you’re an alpha geek in your family or extended circle. I agree with the MST/rifftrax recommendations, I’ve given The Puma Man DVD to non-geeky family members and it was a hit (though they were content to dip their feet into geekdom, it’s not like I expected them to go on downloading the entire 9 seasons like I did).

Haha, wtf, Noah xD You played through MW2 on Veteran the first time? Man, that can’t have been a good experience. Well-well, now you know, and knowing is… all that shizzle.

I agree when it comes to Borderlands. I’d give it a 9/10 (if I had to rate it) because it is so much fun, especially with friends. I liked playing it with one other friend, locally. It just feels right and you get a really good time in return. If you want to play it alone but don’t mind other players joining you, then be the host. People can join you at all times and you can kick them whenever you want (mostly for level-related reasons), so that’s my advice.

You mentioned SWAT 4, I was surprised the other day when I went to the only Gamestop in my town that still has a rack of PC games and I saw SWAT 4 on the shelf. Go figure.

Oh my god Spoony…you like Carl Sagan! And just when I thought you couldn’t get any more attractive… ;-) Also, I know you’ve worn it before and I never said anything, but seeing the Castleton shirt always makes me smile. Time Chasers is one of my all time favorite MST3K episodes.

And speaking of episodes, I quite liked this one not so much as a gift guide (it was good as that too, but like you say, you really have to know the person you’re giving the gift to), but more as a little peek into what you watch on your off time when you aren’t flogging yourself through some horrible piece of shit game/movie for our amusement hehehe.

Keep up the great work, Spoony One.

Bah, left something else out…

Since you mentioned board games I have to ask…have you ever played the board game Dark Tower? THAT is a review I would literally pay money to see you do.

If I got The Ripper for christmas, I think I’d have to disown whoever gave it to me.

When the hell do you people play all this games?
I wouldn’t have time to play 1/3 of you guys play, and i don’t even have a job

Ah… I love it.
However, it’s no good to me. :-)
You already have all that.

There is a possibility that another series of Red Dwarf will be made, the “Dave” channel in the UK were impressed with Back to Earth’s ratings and commissioned more scripts.

Your suggestions are pimp! The Last Starfighter and The Cosmos rule!

Well you branded me an Uber-nerd too… God I love Cosmos.

I find myself in kind of a weird position this holiday season. You see I AM one of those kids born in the 90s but all I watched were old movies, all I played was old videogames. Sure the first console I remember was the Super Nintendo but I have actually taken it upon my self to go back and learn about the annals of Video game history. I’m a senior in Highschool and the only one in the entire school… No the only person/Child my age or lower I HAVE EVER MET, That still owns a working atari 2600. I find myself firmly rooted in the 80s-90s period in gaming as the one era I keep returning to. Any Game for the Atari – Super nintendo is a great gift for someone like me.

That’s all I have to add to your Video Spoony one, Great video as always, our tastes aren’t that different, even though I was born in 1991 XD.

i’m actually kinda curious, and blame me for being lazy =P but if i wanted to donate a board game to ya that i know for a fact you’d get a kick out of and have never played, how would i do it?

its a board game made by a guy in portland oregon that he sells at the local markets, and its hilarious for everyone involved.

Spoony….

I was once going to a school that had like media, woodshop and alot of weird things.. We have in Denmark theyre awesome… But we went on a school trip to Norway. To skii… All the movie nerds (myself included) brought DVDs and stuff.. Anyway I wanted to show people a really funny show…. So I popped in Black Adder 3rd season….

My teacher comes in the door… Takes a look at the tv and without moving his sight from the screen goes… Who does this belong to… Silence.. I say its mine… He turns towards me… HUGE smile… and he goes “I am so glad that you have theese dvds…” and then he proceeded to tell everybody to shut up and watch it……
So Spoony….

I am so glad that YOU have Blackadder….. 4th season is awesome and widely regarded as the best british comedy ever made….

I have a cunning plan :D

Blackadder is awesome – But you were wrong about Red Dwarf. They are filming a new season beginning of next year.

@130 @132

I agree with your points about the ‘squinty science’ of the series, however it wasn’t really prevalent in seasons 1 and 2 (mainly due to low budget) and in 3, 4, 5 and 6 it was usually easy to ignore (Timeslides being the nadir of those series). I’m not a hard science guy so I can overlook some of the more ridiculous parts of episodes so long as the rest was entertaining.

I kind of liked 7 and 8 at the time, however I knew they only had one writer and the writer who’d left was the funny one, while Doug Naylor was the sciency one. Also it got rid of Rimmer, bought back Kochanski (An annoying, snobbish version of Kochanski rather than the one-dimensional CP Grogan eyecandy from episode one… Yes I’m bitter about this!), then bought back the entire crew, put them in prison, bought Rimmer back (sort of), got rid of Kochanski (sort of) and all of a sudden it wasn’t Red Dwarf anymore. It was Sci-fi prison comedy which wasn’t very funny. For instance, a plot involving a dinosaur in the cargo bay stretched to TWO episodes; surely such an epic plot requires a full hour to tell…..
The reason I choose to ignore 7 and 8 is that 6 bought the series to a downbeat, but ultimately final end. Series 8, what the hell was supposed to have happened? There was just too much bullshit to take in one half hour. It left too many questions unanswered, made no sense, and ended on a cliffhanger which could never be resolved. Though I do admit Rimmer kicking death in the nuts is quite amusing and in character.
But anyway, enough about the like-it don’t-like-it rift about this series. Let us all join in admitting Blackadder’s friggin’ awesome :-)

Can anyone recommend a good sci-fi board game that’s kind of like Risk? I’ve been contemplating on picking one up but can’t seem to find one in my area.

More 2+ player card/board games to consider:

Munchkin (or anything by Steve Jackson – http://www.sjgames.com/ourgames/card.html), Zombies!!! – http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2471/zombies

oh and a party type game called Wherewolf – http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59335/wherewolf, the rules are here – http://www.eblong.com/zarf/werewolf.html

HOw much is The cosmos collectors set???

Well damn!

Hello from Croatia, Spoony. First I stumbled upon your website via Nostalgia Critic, then I've seen the A Better Tomorrow poster in your room (my top 5 favorite movie all time) then I saw Blade Runner poster (best movie all time for me) and now you talking about Monthy Python (I grew up watching Flying Circus over and over again, Dennis Moore riding through the land…), and Black Adder and Red Dwarf were regularly broadcasted on our TV. English humor was pretty much standard over here.

You should check out Only Fools & Horses, probably the most witty, funniest sitcom I've ever seen.

I will keep coming back to this site :) Your reviews rock.

Also Last Starfighter rocks. Xur hologram creeps me out to this day.Are they actually making a remake of the Star Fighter? I wish I could nuke the entire Hollywood and every single brainwashed kid who bought into it from the second Matrix till today…and start fresh.

These remakes are just too damn ridiculous. They could actually consider doing something…I don't know…original?

Anyways, greetings from Croatia man! Keep up the great work! :)

What about an office chair?

wow the lighting in this video is spectacular

black adder fuck ya

YES! RED DWARF IS AMAZING!

P.S. I am a huge John Carpenter fan as well. I even like his bad movies

Carl Sagan is awesome. RIP.

Carl Sagan is awesome. RIP.