Raven Kai – Page 13 – ÜberSciFiGeek

The Countdown Begins to “Riese the Series” Chapter 2!

Riese the Series has wowed viewers since it launched its premiere episode, “Hunt,” on November 1, 2009, on KoldCast and YouTube. Since that time, they’ve have over 1,000,000 views. Chapter 1 wrapped up two weeks ago on January 4th and Chapter 2 begins on February 1st. So as not to leave us high and dry when we’ve come to rely on our Riese fix every two weeks, Riese the Series has graciously posted a trailer for Chapter 2 and it looks soooooooo good. We are definitely going to see more of this incredible world that co-creator Ryan Copple was telling us about when we spoke with him last September. Already at the top of the list of best web series of 2009, this show promises to just keep getting better in 2010.

Riese is a sci-fi/fantasy series richly influenced by history, mythology, folklore and steampunk. It follows a young woman and her companion, a wolf named Fenrir, who travel through a collapsing world trying to piece together the fragmented memories of her past while attempting to evade the dangerous religious cult that hunts her. With a high budget compared to other web series, and filmed on the RED camera in high definition, the show is visually beautiful. The wardrobe, music and depth of story all contribute to creating the world of Eleysia.

Riese features sci-fi regulars such as Christine Chatelain (Sanctuary, Supernatural, The Collector), Sharon Taylor (Smallville, Stargate Atlantis, Eureka), Patrick Gilmore (Stargate Universe, Battlestar Galactica), Ben Cotton (Harper’s Island, Stargate Atlantis, Taken), Ryan Robbins (Sanctuary, Caprica, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate Atlantis), Peter Kelamis (Stargate Universe, Dragon Ball Z, The X-Files), Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary, jPod, Battlestar Galactica), Allessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Death Note), and Allison Mack (Smallville, Alice & Huck).

Check out more information about Riese the Series here:

Riese the Series Official Web Page
Riese the Series Store (Buy Merchandise! Fund Chapter 3!)
Riese the Series Channel on YouTube
Riese the Series on KoldCast.TV
Riese the Series Official Forum
Riese the Series on Facebook
Riese the Series on Twitter
Riese the Series Fansite

Mana Energy Potion

When I first saw the Mana Energy Potion on a gaming website many moons ago, I desired immediately to try it but, alas, the opportunity to do so did not present itself. For months, as I saw advertisements for it, I looked on longingly, wondering what it would taste like and how effective it would be on someone like me for whom caffeine has little or no effect.

As one of those “hyper-active kids” growing up in the 70s, I was prescribed the common treatment for children such as myself — coffee. It effectively calmed my internal fires down from raging inferno to pleasant glow, pleasing the grumps (grown-ups). Because of its lulling effect on me, I was frequently dosed to keep me calm and manageable. I did not, however, mind this medicine because I found the flavor enticing and most satisfactory, and even frequently medicated myself (though I didn’t realize that is what I was doing at the time) as I crawled from lap to lap of every coffee drinker in the family and nursed their warm, sweet cups of java (thus this “treatment” became the root of my life-long coffee passion).

Copious amounts of caffeine tends to have the opposite effect on me that it does on normal mortals. For example, it takes about 10 shots of espresso (approximately 700 MG caffeine) to get me hyper for about half an hour, but then I’m practically narcoleptic after the effects wear off and it seems more like a sleeping draft than an energy boost. The only thing I’ve found in my search for restorative elixirs that truly gives me the desired energy boost is sushi (and toasted seaweed). Thus, the mystery of Mana Energy Potion continued to intrigue me every time I saw it.

Finally, my quest for attaining my very own Mana Energy Potion has come to fruition. A coworker of mine (one of only two geeks I’ve discovered here so far) struck up a discussion with me on break today. She had a bottle of Mana Energy Potion with her and when she saw how excited I was to see it, she gifted me with said bottle. I took a sip right away, so as to partially quench my curiosity, and forced myself to save the rest for when I had scroll and quill in hand and could properly record my newly discovered insight.

My initial thought of this tasty, sea-green Mana Energy Potion was that it was tart without being sour and sweet without being sugary. Upon further indulgence of the small ampoule, I ruminated on its other qualities. Mana Energy Potion’s texture is lightly syrupy yet washes away clean from the pallet and its flavor is mildly fruity with a lingering citrus hint. Its aroma is similarly fruity. It reminds me of something else I have had but, as of yet, the memory of what that something else is remains elusive.

While Mana Energy Potion does contain caffeine, it relies mainly on a combination of vitamins and enzymes to provide its energy boost. While it is brimming over with vitamins, it tastes nothing at all like medicine like so many other vitamin-infused tonics tend to taste. Now, here, some hours on after imbibing my draft of Mana Energy Potion, I can truly say I am still feeling its effects. I feel nearly giddy with energy and dare say it’s affected my mood positively as well. I have not found anything nearly so effective at renewing my vigor and enhancing my mood, and am seriously considering adding this potent potion to my daily routine. If it can have this effect on one such as I, who is typically immune to such concoctions, I can only imagine what its lively effect would be on other adventurers while they are questing in dank dungeons or raiding in mountain citadels. Having now imbibed this potent draft, I believe I must concur that Mana Energy Potion is everything they claim it is, truly Magic!

You can learn more about procuring your very own Mana Energy Potion at manapotions.com, or look for it in your favorite gamers den.

Tweet for a Chance to Win @R4D: Hobs End CD

In the gift-giving spirit of Christmas, we’re giving away 2 copies of the Requiem for Delinquency CD Hobs End.

Back in August, I discovered R4D, fell in love and told you about it here at ÜberSciFiGeek.

Some elements of Hobs End remind me of Bill Leeb projects such as Delerium and Fauxliage… Requiem for Delinquency is the kind of electronica music you might find on a Six Degrees or Nettwerk label… Some tracks are similar to but have more synth than Robert Miles and Enigma compositions, but are not as heavily reliant on synth as Tangerine Dream or Vangelis tend to be. (For the full review click here.)

Now we’re giving you a chance to win your own copy of R4D’s Hobs End. Beginning Christmas Eve, Thursday December 24th, and running through New Year’s Eve, Thursday December 31st, all tweets of this article (just click “Tweet This Post”) or retweets from Twitter will be entered into a random drawing to receive a copy of R4D’s Hobs End CD.

You can check out a preview of their music at RequiemForDelinquency.com and then tweet to enter!

Merry Christmas from all of us at ÜberSciFiGeek!

“Death Note: L, Change the World”, a New Novel from VIZ Media

Death Note: L, Change the World

Death Note began as a Japanese manga series that was published between 2003 and 2006. It was hugely popular and spawned 3 live action films, an anime series, novels, video games and other merchandise. The anime is virtually identical to the manga, while the films’ plot deviates in small but significant ways.

The new novel Death Note: L, Change the World from VIZ Media is based on the third live action film. For those of you who may not have heard of it, Death Note follows the case of a “Righteous” Serial Killer called Kira who targets criminals and the corrupt. The mysterious circumstances surrounding the deaths of those “Judged” by Kira catches the attention of the world’s greatest detective, a mysterious unseen figure who goes by the name L. Kira appears to be able to kill anyone from any distance simply by knowing their name and their face, something easily learned from television, newspapers and the Internet. Based on the first reported incidents, L’s search for Kira leads him from the U.S. to Japan.

Once in Japan, L puts together a special team where everyone’s true identities are kept secret in order to prevent Kira from being able to target them and thwart their attempts at stopping his “Justified” killing spree. As crime and violence drops around the world, Kira becomes elevated to savior in the minds of many people, further complicating L’s efforts to capture Kira. When Kira acts on information that was not released to the public and then begins to target those who are investigating him, L begins to suspect that the person behind the killings is the gifted university student Light Yagami. Light is not only the son of the local Police Chief and interested in Law Enforcement but has used his brilliant deduction skills to assist the police in several high profile crimes. He has a strong sense of justice and has become disillusioned by the increasing crime and corruption in the world around him. L recruits Light in the effort to track Kira not only because his brilliance rivals L’s own but because he continues to suspect that Light truly is Kira. As events unfold, L discovers how Kira is able to kill his victims: by writing their name in a Death Note, the notebook used by Shinigami (death gods or grim reapers) to end human lives.

Death Note: L, Change the World takes place over a 20-day period after the resolution of the Kira case. If you’ve seen the films, the events in this book occur between the final showdown and the ending scene of Death Note II: The Last Name. Just as most films adapted from novels have significant differences, Death Note: L, Change the World has significant differences between this novel and the film version of the story. The plot of the film is generally followed but some events in the film are referred to rather then shown in the novel and others are left out entirely. There are also characters in the film who are combined with others, changed or absent in the book.

First of all, I have to say the book is gorgeous. The back and front covers are decorated edge to edge with full color illustrations featuring L. The dust jacket is a heavy, transparent vinyl with the gold-lettered title stamped into the cover and illustrations on both the front and back inside covers where liner notes usually appear. Another full color illustration of L graces the first “page” of the book and has a transparent vellum overlay that includes an image of Light offering him the Death Note. There are several illustrations in the index of the book and the top of each page includes a graphic timeline so you can track the days with a glance, as time is very important in the events of L, Change the World. There’s even a satin ribbon to mark your place as you read. This high-quality volume will make a beautiful addition to your Death Note collection.

As for the story, L, Change the World covers L’s final case before passing the L mantle on to someone new. After having finally unmasked Kira, L is called upon to stop a global epidemic when a bio-terrorist group called Blue Ship steals a virus that they plan to use to destroy a significant portion of the human population, to “save the Earth” and create a better place for humans. Akin to Ebola but 100 times worse, those infected begin to develop lesions and bleed from the eyes, ears, nose and mouth as it rapidly progresses once it leaves its two-week incubation stage. L is on the run from the terrorist group and the FBI, and in the company of a little girl who holds the key to creating the antivirus.

In the midst of this cat-and-mouse game, where everyone seems to have a double agenda, there is also an underlying theme of redemption. As the characters face difficult choices, some based on hope and others on hopelessness, L stresses that while “even a genius can’t change the world alone,” each of us can play our part in making things better.

While the novel is only 188 pages long, it definitely covers a lot of ground and contributes greatly to the Death Note storyline. L, Change the World provides not only more background information about the mysterious Wammy House, the orphanage for gifted children where L grew up, but a little bit more about L’s background. We also gain insight into L’s thought process and see a side of him that wasn’t present, or only hinted at, in the anime and films.

After having seen all 37 anime episodes and 3 films, as well as a fair portion of manga, reading L, Change the World was the first time I truly liked L and felt any empathy for him, even moving me to tears. While the films and manga focused on his odd behavior and deduction process, L, Change the World gives you a peek into his thoughts and feelings as well as his logic.

While the book is significantly different from the film, I think it is a much better story. The characters, their motivations and the plot line are all more complex and have a good message as well. It is a bit melodramatic and even a tad bit silly at times, but that should be expected since it was also commonplace in the films and anime. Because of L, Change the World, I’m seeing the entire series with a new perspective and might want to revisit it soon as a result of having gained that perspective. I’d also be very interested in reading more Death Note novels by M, the mysterious author of this tome, as I feel that L, Change the World is a great contribution to the Death Note saga.

You can learn more about or purchase Death Note: L, Change the World and the rest of the Death Note series at the VIZ website and watch the anime series at Hulu.

Bernie Su’s “Compulsions” — a Web Series with a Dark Side

Compulsions, Episode 1: Unleash

Everyone has a compulsion, most of us fight them, repress them, and keep them hidden. Compulsions tells the story of three seemingly normal people who instead of repressing their dark desires, act on them as emotional outlets.

Compulsions is a serialized dramatic thriller focusing on the internal dark sides of the leads juxtaposed with their “daily lives”.

Compulsions is the new web series from creator Bernie Su. Launched on November 30th at the popular Cinaspace night club in Hollywood and then online the following day, it’s been a whirlwind week for the creative team behind Compulsions. Unlike the typical web series where you get a new episode sometimes several weeks apart, Compulsions has launched an episode a day with the Season 1 finale, Episode 8, launching tomorrow. The release schedule isn’t the only thing different about this series. It’s not a fantasy, sci-fi or comedy trying to reach an audience that’s already seeking out more of the same content, but a drama seeking a new audience — the horror, drama and thriller fans. A high-quality dramatic thriller, Compulsions explores the lives of seemingly average people with a serious dark side that they juggle with their “normal” daily lives.

Mark is a submissive office worker by day and sadistic torturer by night. With his partner Justine, he kidnaps and interrogates people with very brutal and effective methods. Cassandra repairs computers, something that feeds her voyeuristic nature as she installs spyware that allows her to watch her clients’ personal lives. When Mark brings his work laptop in for her to fix, she discovers more then she bargained for when she takes a peek into his life.

Starring Craig Frank of The Crew and Craig and the Werewolf fame, Compulsions is a departure from the lighthearted and comedic fare that made him a familiar face online. Frank’s understated and natural performance that makes him so funny in his comedic roles translates well to the thriller format. I, for one, have always felt that the over-the-top bad-guy roles were much less effective than the quietly disturbed baddies. Frank plays quietly disturbed extremely well and can make the description of a fashion accessory sound frightening. His calm demeanor as he interrogates his victims is much more intimidating than any screaming, spittle-in-your-face villain would be, and his narrative at some points reminds me of Denzel Washington’s in Fallen.

As voyeuristic Cassandra, Annemarie Pazmino (Sorority Forever, Shoot the Hero, Edges of Darkness) has a Summer Glau-like cuteness and quirkiness. While you should immediately find yourself repulsed by her intrusion into others’ lives, you find yourself empathetic towards her instead. Several of her scenes rely solely on her expressions and non-verbal communication, and she proves to be just as vocal with her expressions as she is with her voice.

Janna Bossier (Skate or Die, The Pros and Cons of Breathing) is Mark’s partner, Justine. While Season 1 is focusing mainly on Mark and Cassandra, we get a pretty grim insight into Justine’s character as she kidnaps unsuspecting victim Sara Flannery (Taryn O’Neill of After Judgment, The Crew and The Office). Her dark side hovers right beneath the surface. She’s got a nonchalance that seems unchanged whether she’s pistol-whipping a victim or sipping wine with her boyfriend.

While Compulsions maintains its mystery (it looks like we’ll have to wait for Season 2 to find out what Mark and Justine are after), it’s a well-acted and compelling story that flows smoothly in its 3 to 5 minute run time and gives just enough information away to keep you coming back for more.

Compulsions also features newcomers Seth Caskey (the upcoming End Result), RC Ormond, Andrew Celmons and Elizabeth Tsing.

You can find out more about Compulsions here:

Compulsions Official Website
Compulsions on Twitter
Compulsions on Facebook

Allison Mack Joins the Cast of Riese!

Allison Mack

Series co-creator Ryan Copple announced today that Allison Mack has joined the cast of Riese the Series.

She is best known for her role as Chloe Sullivan on Smallville where, for the past nine years, she’s played Clark Kent’s best friend. She’s appeared in almost two hundred episodes, including starring in Smallville: Chloe Chronicles, mini-episodes of Smallville produced for the CW website.

Mack began acting at age four and has kept busy on screen and stage ever since. She appeared in films such as Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves and The Ant Bully, and in television series including The Nightmare Room, Opposite Sex, and 7th Heaven. Her musical career has included choreography and directing, as well as performing in shows such as Rent, Chicago, and Hair. Her behind-the-scenes experience doesn’t stop there. She’s directed episodes of Smallville and produced, as well as starred in, the short film Alice & Huck.

While she has typically played the good girl, the best friend and other wholesome characters, her role on Riese promises to be much darker. Copple says that Mack will be playing Marlise, “a low-ranking Sect member. Sadistic and power-hungry, she’ll do anything to ascend to the higher ranks.”

Riese features sci-fi regulars such as Christine Chatelain (Sanctuary, Supernatural, The Collector), Sharon Taylor (Smallville, Stargate Atlantis, Eureka), Patrick Gilmore (Stargate Universe, Battlestar Galactica), Ben Cotton (Harper’s Island, Stargate Atlantis, Taken), Ryan Robbins (Sanctuary, Caprica, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate Atlantis), Peter Kelamis (Stargate Universe, Dragon Ball Z, The X-Files), Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary, jPod, Battlestar Galactica), and Allessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Death Note).

Find out more about Allison Mack here:

Allison Mack’s Official Site
Allison Mack on IMDb
Allison Mack on YouTube

Check out more information about Riese the Series here:

Riese the Series Official Web Page
Riese the Series Channel on YouTube
Riese the Series on KoldCast.TV
Riese the Series Official Forum
Riese the Series on Facebook
Riese the Series on Twitter
Riese the Series Fansite

Alessandro Juliani Joins the Cast of Riese!

Alessandro Juliani

Series co-creator Ryan Copple announced today that Alessandro Juliani has joined the cast of Riese the Series.

Best know for his role as Felix Gaeta on Battlestar Galactica, Juliani has had a long career in music, as well as in film and television, spanning more than twenty years. His baritone voice delighted fans and brought them to tears when his character Gaeta sang a threnody in the BSG episode, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”. In addition to singing professionally in choirs such as Montreal’s Christ Church Cathedral, Juliani has worked extensively in voice acting, being featured in such roles as the voice of L in the American version of Death Note and Gambit in X-Men: Evolution, as well as several other cartoons. He can currently be seen as Dr. Hamilton on Smallville.

Copple says of Juliani, “He’ll play Garin, best friend of Rand. He’s the calm and thoughtfulness to Rand’s impetuous and impatience.” He will appear in Chapter 2 of Riese which begins filming this week.

Riese features sci-fi regulars such as Christine Chatelain (Sanctuary, Supernatural, The Collector), Sharon Taylor (Smallville, Stargate Atlantis, Eureka), Patrick Gilmore (Stargate Universe, Battlestar Galactica), Ben Cotton (Harper’s Island, Stargate Atlantis, Taken), Ryan Robbins (Sanctuary, Caprica, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate Atlantis), Peter Kelamis (Stargate Universe, Dragon Ball Z, The X-Files), and Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary, jPod, Battlestar Galactica).

Find out more about Alessandro Juliani here:

Alessandro Juliani on IMDb.com
Alessandro Juliani on Wikipedia

Check out more information about Riese the Series here:

Geeky Goodness, Gadgets and Great Gift Ideas

Trying to figure out what the perfect gift will be for your favorite geek? Check out some of these awesome gift ideas.

Electronic Gadgets:

The Kindle Wireless Reading Device is presently the #1 Bestselling, #1 most wished for and #1 most gifted item on Amazon.com. At just over 1/3 of an inch thick it’s thinner than most magazines and weighs less then a paperback book. With wireless 3G technology, you can download your new books digitally in under 60 seconds from anywhere in the world! It reads like real paper without a glare (even in strong sunlight) and holds up to 1,500 books at a time. With over 360,000 books now available for download, Kindle will keep any book lover happy for years to come!

This 8 GB MP4/MP3 Player from Pyrus Electronics includes an FM radio, camera, voice recorder and features a 2.8 inch touchscreen. They also have a 4 GB version and for under $10 you can get an MP3 FM Transmitter (with remote) that plugs right into your cigarette lighter and transmits your favorite MP3s to your radio. It uses an SD card so your only limit is how big the card memory is.

The Electronic Lab 130-in-One Project is a fun way to learn about electronics and study the wonders of science. This kit will give you a jump-start on a great hobby with no prior electronics knowledge needed. Project components are assembled on a built-in breadboard by connection to spring terminals — no soldering needed — and use safe, low-voltage batteries. Comes with built-in speaker, 7-segment LED digital display, integrated circuits, rotary controls and clearly written instructions with schematics/diagrams.

The Genius PenSketch is a brilliant drawing and graphic editing tool. I’ve owned the previous model of this 9×12 tablet for almost three years and it’s been incredibly helpful and easy to use with any artistic project I’ve worked on. It has a USB connection and includes a wireless mouse, rubber-coated pen and software. This handy tablet includes lots of customizable features that I haven’t even begun to explore yet. While everyone dreams of having the massive, professional graphic tablets, Genius has provided an affordable, high-quality product that will help you master your digital graphic arts skills before spending the really big bucks on a professional set-up.

DVD Goodies:

Farscape: The Complete Series
Probably the best news I’ve had in years, Farscape is finally out on DVD at an incredible low price. Remember when IF you were lucky enough to find it at your local store, it had a hefty $120 per season price tag? Even online sources like eBay charged an average of $80 per season. Now, to celebrate the 10th Anniversary, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and A&E Home Video have partnered to bring you the complete series for under $100! Tack on Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars and you’ve got a complete set! Still need more Farscape? Check out the books and comics that complete the back-story and fill us in on events since The Peacekeeper Wars.

Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: The Definitive Collection
One of Jim Henson’s finest works is The Storyteller series, originally airing on HBO in 1987. The Definitive Collection includes 13 stories, 9 based on European fables, and 4 slightly grittier takes on Greek myths.

Jim Henson’s Fantasy Film Collection includes three of Henson’s best fantasy films: Labyrinth, MirrorMask and The Dark Crystal, all for one great, low price.

Pushing Daisies: The Complete First and Second Seasons is a MUST-have for anyone who loved other Bryan Fuller productions such as Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me.

Other great film ideas:

V: The Original TV Miniseries and V: The Complete Series
See where it all started with the original series!

Ultimate Sci-Fi Collection
This 20-disc set includes: Escape From NY, Mad Max, Rollerball, The Abyss, Alien, Aliens, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Fantastic Voyage, The Fly, Independence Day, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Neptune Factor, Planet of the Apes (1968), and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

Babylon 5: The Complete Television Series and the follow-up Crusade: The Complete Series.

Sanctuary: The Complete First Season
The little web series that could! Sanctuary made its jump from the web to television. This 4-disc set includes the entire first season plus many extras, including the original web series.

Earth 2: The Complete Series
A great show that ended too soon. Definitely worth adding to your sci-fi collection.

The Ray Bradbury Theater: Complete Series includes all 65 episodes of this wonderful show.

Some of my other all-time favorites that your favorite geek might like: Krull, Tin Man, Willow, The Philadelphia Experiment, The Final Countdown, Time After Time, Stargate SG-1: The Complete Series Collection and Young Frankenstein.

Board and Card Games:

Fluxx 4.0
Looney Labs produces lots of great games that are fun to play. One of their most popular, Fluxx, has been updated with a new release and new art work, but the same great fun. Additional versions of Fluxx include: Martian Fluxx, Monty Python Fluxx, Zombie Fluxx, EcoFluxx and Family Fluxx.

Battlestar Galactica, based on the hugely popular recent series, is a semi-cooperative board game for 3-6 players.

The Dread Pirate Bookshelf Game is played on a wonderfully illustrated and aged treasure map with cast metal playing pieces, replica doubloons, wooden dice, treasure bags and pirate treasure. This attractive Bookshelf Edition comes packaged in an aged wooden book that will look great displayed in any room of the house.

World of Warcraft: The Adventure Game
Can’t talk your friends into playing World of Warcraft online with you? Maybe they’ll enjoy an exciting and fast-paced journey through the world of Azeroth with this awesome board game based on the popular online game.

Starcraft: The Board Game
Whether you choose to lead the versatile Terran, mysterious Protoss, or voracious Zerg, in Starcraft: The Board Game you’ll command an army like no other in the universe. Based on the popular computer game, here’s a fun way to get your friends hooked on another game classic!

Music:

Battlestar Galactica: Season One, Season Two, Season Three and Season Four soundtracks feature the mesmerizing music of Bear McCreary.

Requiem for Delinquency: Hob’s End is a great electronica album in the vein of Delerium and Enigma, with hints of Dead Can Dance.

The Best of Delerium features some classic cuts from one of my all-time favorite groups.

Pure Chill Out is a collection of chill, electronica and ambient music. This is another CD that is always in my CD wallet when I travel.

Café del Mar, Vol. 15 is the latest entry from this great music anthology. It’s perfect for playing games online, drawing or whatever else you find yourself geeking out with.

Final Fantasy XI Premium Box features 7 discs of the beautiful in-game music from the Final Fantasy series.

What would be on your wishlist? Feel free to comment!

Emilie Ullerup Joins the Cast of Riese!

Emilie Ullerup

Emilie Ullerup, best known for her role as Ashley Magnus on Syfy’s Sanctuary, has officially joined the cast of the new hit web series Riese the Series. Ryan Copple, co-creator of Riese, commented on how excited the Riese team is that she’s joining the show and how excited she was to be coming on board. Her character, Aliza — a revolutionary and companion of Rand — will appear in Chapter 2 of Riese which begins filming in two weeks in Vancouver.

Born in Denmark and traveling the world while growing up, Ullerup always wanted to be an actress. This led her to British Columbia where she graduated from the Vancouver Film School in 2005. After graduation she appeared in series such as Battlestar Galactica and Blood Ties before landing the role of Ashley Magnus on the web series Sanctuary. While Sanctuary was in post-production she was cast in a lead role on the TV series jPod, based on the Douglas Coupland novel of the same name. Her role as Kaitlin on jPod won her a Leo Award for Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series in 2008. While jPod was critically acclaimed and a real hit with the target audience (one of the MOST DOWNLOADED shows of 2008), CBC did not order up a second season of jPod and left audiences with a cliffhanger ending regarding her character.

About this same time, Sanctuary had not only become a hit on the web, it was picked up by several television networks, including Syfy and Space, and reformatted to a one-hour weekly TV series where Ullerup reprised her role as Ashley. More recently, Ullerup appeared as Catherine “Cat” Grant on Smallville and has a small role in the upcoming sci-fi film Paradox, based on the popular graphic novel from writer Christos N. Gage (published by Arcana Comics).

Riese the Series marks her return to the medium that won her scores of fans to begin with: the web.

Find out more about Emilie Ullerup:

Emilie Ullerup Official Website
Emilie Ullerup on IMDb.com
Emilie Ullerup on Facebook
Emilie Ullerup Fan Forum

Check out more information about Riese the Series here:

Peter Kelamis Joins the Cast of Riese!

Peter Kelamis

Actor and comedian Peter Kelamis has joined the cast of the new fantasy web series Riese. Currently seen as Adam Brody on Stargate Universe, Kelamis has appeared in nearly 100 projects including film, television and voice work in cartoons and video games. Details are forthcoming, but according to series co-creator Ryan Copple, Kelamis will be playing the role of Ormand.

Riese the Series premiered simultaneously on YouTube and KoldCast.TV on November 2nd. With nearly 70,000 views on YouTube so far, Riese has caught the attention of big media outlets including The New York Times and The Globe and Mail, as well as other traditional sci-fi outlets such as Sci-Fi Talk and GateWorld. The premiere episode got so many hits when it launched that YouTube quickly contacted Copple about adding Riese as one of their featured shows, and it’s also a featured show on KoldCast.TV.

Riese is a sci-fi/fantasy series richly influenced by history, mythology, folklore and steampunk. Riese follows a young woman and her companion, a wolf named Fenrir, who travel a collapsing world trying to piece together the fragmented memories of her past while trying to evade the dangerous religious cult that hunts her. With a high budget compared to other web series, and filmed on the RED camera in high definition, the show is visually beautiful. The wardrobe, music and depth of story all contribute to creating the world of Eleysia.

Episode 2, “Fragments”, premieres November 16th on YouTube and KoldCast. If you haven’t watched it yet, check out Episode 1, “Hunt” now.

Interested in learning more? Check out more information about Riese the Series here:

The Olympians Take on New York in O-Cast

What would happen if the gods of yesterday walked among the men (and women, of course) of today? Thanks to the new web series O-Cast from Bryan Dechart and Anne Richmond, now we know.

O-Cast is a mockumentary web series created by the twelve Olympian gods of Greek mythology to broadcast their new lives as 20-something New Yorkers. Comedy ensues as they combine forces to convince the mortals of their modern relevance and inspire a new generation of believers.

Cleverly written and well-acted, O-Cast is a humorous look at the lives of twelve Olympians who’ve fallen to Earth and hope to recapture their glory days now that they’re here. Poseidon is the mastermind behind the new marketing campaign that takes the form of a documentary that he hopes will go viral on the Internet. He is aided in his quest by the wise advice of Athena and the technical skills of Hermes, who documents the entire endeavor. You’ll find all your favorites of the Greek Pantheon here including Zeus, Hera, Hestia, Demeter, Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Hades and Hephaestus.

The cast members are perfect in their roles and play their characters believably casual. O-Cast is funny without being over-the-top and has sight gags without being slap-stick. Each of the gods has a behavior quirk (and the occasional one-liner) and, in group scenes, it’s fun to watch the background to see what they are up to. It will be nice to see the characters continue to flesh out and interact with each other, and I look forward to seeing what direction they go with O-Cast.

They’ve got a great interactive website with what seems to be a fair amount of involvement and direct interaction between the cast, crew and the fans. Be sure to check out more about O-Cast here:

O-Cast Official Website
O-Cast on YouTube
O-Cast Facebook Fan Page
O-Cast on Twitter
O-Cast God Blog

Looney Labs Updates the Classic “Chrononauts” Time Travel Card Game

Chrononauts

What would have happened if President Lincoln had survived that fateful night at the Ford Theater, or if President Kennedy hadn’t been struck by the magic bullet fired from the Texas School Book Depository? How different would history be if other key events, such as the Titanic sinking or Sputnik launching, were suddenly altered? In the newly updated re-release of the classic Looney Labs game Chrononauts you are a time traveler from the future entrusted with the task of preserving the timeline.

There are three ways to play: the standard game, Solonauts and Artifaxx.

In the standard game, each player has a unique identity and secret mission that they must achieve before getting to return to their future. Twists and turns of events prevent major events that can cause paradoxes that will either help you or prevent you from achieving your goals. Too many paradoxes can cause the collapse of history as we know it.

The 32 timeline cards cover events from the 1865 Lincoln assassination to the 1999 Columbine Massacre. Your mission may require you to get the Nuremberg Race Laws repealed in 1942 or it could be as simple as collecting historical artifacts such as the Rongo-Rongo tablets of Easter Island that were burned by missionaries in 1865 or the lost Ark of the Covenant. In addition to the 32 timeline cards, there are 14 ID cards (who you are in the game), 10 mission cards (goals you must achieve to win the game) and 84 Chrononauts cards including Artifacts, Inverters (undo or redo a historical event), Timewarps, Gadgets, Patches (repair history without necessarily returning events to the original timeline) and Actions (things you do that effect the destruction or reparation of the timeline).

While some events or artifacts are historically sound, other events you must instigate or artifacts you must retrieve are a little tongue-in-cheek. For example, if you’ve prevented John Lennon’s assassination you might be able to retrieve The Beatles’ reunion album, The Purple Submarine, or if you are one of the giant mutant cockroaches from a far distant future, you might like a Videotape of the Creation of the Universe (World War 3), on Betamax no less.

The standard version of the game is for 2 to 6 players and our average game time was about 45 minutes.

When playing as a Solonaut, instead of each player being a Chrononaut with his own agenda, you must get eight Chrononauts back home in a single pass through the deck. You remove the artifacts, gadgets and missions from the deck and then play through the remainder of the deck until either you get all eight of your characters home or you run out of cards and lose.

Artifaxx is a fast version of the game for 2 to 4 players. Because it is less complex, it’s also a good game to play with younger players. You sort out all of the Artifacts, Actions, Timewarps and Missions and put aside the rest of the deck. Players take turns drawing one card and playing one card until someone achieves their secret mission.

Gameplay is similar to Looney Labs’ Fluxx games but far more structured. You really have to pay attention to the information on the cards because they contain certain “If ___, then ___” scenarios. It takes a few rounds to get the hang of, but is easy to learn and fun to play. Not only will you laugh at the mayhem you cause mucking up the timeline, you might just learn a thing or two about history as well.

Having moved from state to state or school to school at key times, I ended up only getting U.S. History in the 4th and 12th grades, so I have to admit that seeing the dates connected to the events was educational for me. We had a lot of debates about historical events while playing, about both history the way it happened and the way it could have happened if key events had gone differently or not occurred at all. It is a more complex game than other Looney Labs offerings I’ve played, but no less entertaining.

Want to make your playing deck more interesting? Try the new The Gore Years and Lost Identities expansion packs, or go way-way back with the Chrononauts: Early American deck.

Available December 4, 2009, just in time for Christmas, you can pick up a copy of Chrononauts through Looney Labs or Amazon, or find a retailer near you through Looney Labs’ Store Locator.